Soldier of the Night
by StormBrony
Summary: Like all mares and stallions, Stormfire has dreams, hopes and aspirations. His dream is to protect his friends and family and join the Lunar Guard, but just how far will he go to protect them? And why does he want to protect them in the first place?
1. Prologue

"Blazefire, please. Don't do this."

"No, Equinox Moon. I'll be back soon."

"Honey, you don't have to do this if you don't want to. You know that, right?"

"Equinox, I don't want to go. But if I don't, I'll be risking the safety of Equestria and quite possibly, the rest of the world. I don't want them coming for you or our son. You know that, right?"

"I'm just worried about you, honey."

"It'll all be alright, honey. Don't worry about me. I will be back before you know it." Blazefire comforted her and gave her a reassuring smile. He held the tearful mare in his hooves, knowing that this could very well be the last time they ever see each other. Where was Blazefire going to, you may ask. Well, Blazefire was a soldier, fighting in the Equestrian military during the Great Gryphon War. Blazefire and Equinox Moon lived together in the small town of Gryffsvale in the Gryphon Empire for just over six months now. The two were originally from Cloudsdale, but they went across the ocean to live in Europone. Before the war had been declared, Blazefire worked as a soldier; preparing and training for the war, while Equinox Moon worked in the town's weather team. There had been talks of a possible war between Equestria and the Gryphon Empire for the past year, ever since the Gryphon Empire admitted to abducting two Equestrian tourists and torturing them for information on the whereabouts of a secret military base on the coast of the Gryphon Empire. When the tourists explained that they had no idea where the base was located, Gryphons locked them up in an unknown area. Word quickly spread from the Gryphon Empire to Equestria and for the next ten months, relations between Equestria and the Gryphon Empire slowly turned sour. Princess Celestia tried her best to keep things under control and reason with the Gryphons, but after a near-devastating attack on a military base near Canterlot carried out by rogue Gryphon forces, she was forced to choose the hard way out. For the next few months, hundreds of Equestrian stallions were drafted into the military.

The town of Gryffsvale lay two hundred and fifty miles to the west of the fighting zone, near a large military outpost where Blazefire worked. Only a week ago, Blazefire was at the military base, when he was drafted into the military to replace a fallen stallion. It took him a while to explain to Equinox Moon that he was being sent to fight, but he was told that he was only fighting for two months before he would be able to come back home. This seemed to calm Blazefire down. What he didn't know was that the war was becoming more fierce and terrible. The chances of him coming back home decreased every moment, but he had to go and fight for his country and for his family. He was getting more and more worried about them every second.

"But what about our son?" Equinox Moon asked, teardrops rolling down her face like surging rivers. Equinox Moon happened to be at the tenth month of her eleven month long pregnancy and she only told Blazefire of it just after the war had been declared. Ever since they found out Equinox Moon was pregnant with a colt, Blazefire was ecstatic, but also terrified, knowing that he probably won't get to see his son for a long time.

"Don't worry, honey. I'll be back to see him grow up. You'll do a great job at raising him." he replied, holding her against his chest. "You'll be a great mom."

"I sure hope so. I just wish we could be all together. I just want my son to know his father." Equinox Moon explained, still crying her eyes out.

"Hey." he said, smiling at her. "What did I tell you? I'll be back to see him grow up. I'm not sure how long it'll take, but I'll be back. And once I'm back, we'll move away from this hellhole of a town and we'll go back home to Equestria and live life in peace. Just you, me and our son."

"Honey..." Equinox Moon begun. "Please stay safe. Please... I love you so much."

"I will, honey. Don't worry." Blazefire replied, holding her against his body, knowing that this might well be the last time they ever see each other again. Their tender moment was interrupted by a sudden bang on the door, which startled them both.

"THIS IS THE EQUESTRIAN MILITARY. OPEN UP." said the voice behind the door. Blazefire did as he was asked and pulled open the door, revealing a large and muscular Earth pony stallion wearing a military uniform.

"It's time for me to leave, honey." He said, kissing her lightly on the cheek. Equinox Moon struggled to hold back her tears, knowing that she could lose Blazefire at anytime.

"Come on, lover boy. It's time to go." said the officer, who was escorting Blazefire to the military carriage.

"Honey, please stay safe." she said, embracing him one last time. Eventually, Blazefire really had to go. He was escorted by the soldier into a military carriage and waved to her one last time. The crying mare returned the gesture and watched the carriage pull away into the distance, before she finally broke down.

A month later...

Equinox Moon lay on the their bed, thinking about, well, life. She was thinking about Blazefire. He said that he'll be back soon, yet it's been over a month since he left and he still hasn't returned. She was getting more and more worried about her husband, yet that wasn't the only thing she was worried about.

Equinox Moon's due date for the foal was today and she was frightened just thinking about it. What if she couldn't make it to the hospital on time? Or what if when the foal is born, she couldn't be a good mother? She was terrified just thinking about it. She was now alone, with nopony to be with her, other than her unborn son. She had no idea where Blazefire was or if anything happened to him. Equinox Moon almost teared up just thinking about Blazefire. What if he was captured by the Gryphons? Or what if he was mercilessly slaughtered, like many other stallions? However, she tried to keep those horrible thoughts at bay and think of more positive things, like the birth of her son. Even though she was scared of the birth, she was also very eager and excited just thinking about it. In fact, she spent the last week or so preparing for the birth, with the help of two of her friends; one an Earth pony mare named Buttermilk and one a Gryphon by the name of Ava. Buttermilk and Ava had been a great help in preparing for the birth, with Buttermilk preparing some clothes for the newborn foal and Ava and her husband Vortex designing and building a crib. Equinox Moon even started to come up with names to suit her son. Although there were many names that she liked, there was one name that stood out from the rest. In fact, it was the only name that she came up with, along with Blazefire. That name was Stormfire. Now, I know what you're thinking. That name sounds pretty damn unoriginal, doesn't it? Well, they both loved the name. The "Storm" part of the name came from his mother's job. She was a weather pony; one of the only two ponies on a team made up entirely of Gryphons. The "Fire" part of his name came from the ending of his father's name, but I'm guessing you already knew that. Anyways, let's get back to the story.

Equinox Moon smiled just thinking about her newborn son. She would finally be a mother, and she promised herself, and Blazefire that she'd be the best mother she can be. She stroked her foal bump and smiled to herself, before her thinking was interrupted by a knock on the front door. The heavy mare grumbled, her peaceful day being interrupted, and slowly set off downstairs to open the door. Ava was at the door, holding something special for the new foal.

"Hey, Equinox." the rather tall gryphon said, looking down at the mare. "Just something for the foal." she explained, giving her a multi-colored toy box.

"Thank you, Ava. Really, I appreciate your help." replied Equinox Moon, taking the toy box from her.

"Anything for a friend, Equi." Ava replied, using the nickname she made up for Equinox Moon. "Listen, isn't today your due date?" she asked.

"Yeah, I think so..." Equinox replied, now feeling a tad bit nervous.

"Vortex wants to take you to the hospital." she explained. Equinox thought to herself. Vortex would be great in transporting her to the hospital, as the nearest hospital lay ten miles to the north of Gryffsvale, which was a bit odd, as Gryffsvale was one of the largest towns in the Empire and most large towns and cities had their own hospital. A hospital was meant to be built in Gryffsvale, but due to the war being declared, construction was postponed and eventually cancelled.

"Ava, you, Vortex and Buttermilk have already done so much..." Equinox Moon explained. "But no thank you."

"Equinox, you're our friend... and friends help other friends." Ava replied, putting her wing on her shoulder.

"I know, Ava... I'm just scared." Equinox replied, tears forming in her eyes. "I'm now alone... My husband is... I don't know what happened to him. I don't have anypony now... and I don't know if I'll raise my son well."

"You will silly." replied a voice. Equinox and Ava turned to face where it was coming from. It was Buttermilk, who was preparing, along with her husband and young son to leave for Equestria that night. Their carriage, which would take them to the nearest major airport, was parked and was waiting for them. Cowbell, Buttermilk's husband was packing all their luggage into the carriage, while their son, Corn Cob was playing with his toys.

"Buttermilk!" said Equinox Moon. "I'm gonna miss you so much."

"Same here, Equi." replied Buttermilk. "Aren't you gals coming too as well to Equestria someday?"

"I would love to, Butter!" replied Ava. "See all the sights... Manehatten, Canterlot, Baltimare, Los Pegasus, Applewood... Ah. If me and Vortex do move, I hope it's to one of those places."

"I personally, would love to go back home." replied Equinox Moon. "But only with my family..."

"Honey-pie, I apologize if I'm being overly negative, but what if Blazefire... doesn't come back? What if this war spreads even further? Because right now, Gryffsvale is one of the only safe places in the Gryphon Empire for ponies and it probably won't be safe for long." explained Buttermilk. Immediately, Equinox Moon stopped and burst into tears. Ava turned to face Buttermilk and gave her a stern look. Although Buttermilk was a great friend, she sometimes (and by sometimes, I mean very often) said the wrong things, which she didn't mean.

"Buttermilk, don't say that... please." replied Equinox Moon, crying her eyes out. "I'm so worried about him."

"Hey, hey, hey..." Buttermilk said, sitting down beside her. "It'll be alright. I know Blazefire and he is quite possibly, the best, most amazing soldier in this town. He will be back, honey. He won't just die on the battlefield."

"And especially not since he now has a young son." Ava said.

"I guess you're right, girls..." Equinox Moon replied, still feeling a bit unsure. The gryphon and the Earth pony mare hugged her tightly, before having to let go.

"Hm... I know what can cheer you up, Equi." begun Ava. "Some lunch."

"Ugh... This is really the best hay fries outside of Equestria, Ava." said Equinox, stuffing her face with some delicious hay fries.

"I'm glad you like them, Equi. I made them myself." the gryphon boasted.

"Don't forget who gave you the recipe, honey." replied Vortex, who was sitting beside her.

"Thanks guys..." replied Buttermilk's husband, Cowbell. Buttermilk, Cowbell and their son were also eating with them.

"Yep. They truly taste magical." replied Buttermilk. Suddenly, Equinox felt strange. She felt stomach cramps which begun to get more and more intense. At first, she thought it was the foal that was coming, but then she dismissed them as just stomach cramps.

"Ava, mind if I use the toilet?" Equinox Moon asked.

"No, no. I don't mind. Go ahead." Ava replied. Equinox Moon went towards the toilet, followed by Corn Cob, who was playing with a toy dumper. Along the way, the cramps begun to get more and more intense, until eventually, they begun to get painful.

"Gahh..." Equinox Moon groaned in pain.

"Hey Aunt Equinox... You alright?" asked Corn Cob.

"Yeah, I'm fine sweetie. I just don't feel...so good." replied Equinox.

"You sure?" asked Corn Cob, who seemed visibly concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Go back to playing with your toys, alright? Auntie will be back soon." Equinox Moon explained and went into the toilet. Suddenly, she screamed as a sharp pain filled her body. The foal was definitely due now. The scream was so loud, it was heard downstairs.

"What the hell was that?" asked Vortex.

"Mommy! Mommy!" said Corn Cob, running down the stairs. "Auntie's screaming!"

"Oh, no... her foal must be due." Buttermilk said and trotted up the stairs, followed by Ava, Vortex, Cowbell and Corn Cob. Meanwhile, Equinox Moon crawled towards the stairs, now very fragile and weak.

"Honey, you alright?" asked Buttermilk.

"DOES IT LOOK LIKE I'M ALRIGHT?!" Equinox Moon yelled.

"Come on, let's get you to the hospital." Buttermilk replied. "Vortex, take her there! We'll catch up to you." Vortex picked up the weak mare with his claws and flew her out through a skylight. Ava followed them, while the rest of the ponies took a carriage to the hospital.

They landed at the hospital about five minutes later and ran into the towering building as fast as they could.

"LISTEN, MA'AM. I HAVE A PONY HERE WHO IS ABOUT TO GIVE BIRTH." shouted Vortex, who was holding Equinox in his claws. Equinox Moon groaned and wriggled about in pain. The receptionist mare stared at them continuously.

"What? DOES IT LOOK LIKE I'M HER HUSBAND?!" yelled Vortex. The receptionist mare shook her head.

"Look! We're just friends, okay? Now please, get a doctor or something!" Ava shouted. The receptionist mare nodded and took out her phone, and rapidly dialed the doctor's number.

Moments later, the doctor came in. He was a large Earth pony stallion with a heart monitor as his cutie mark.

"Mrs. Equinox Moon? Come with me please." said the doctor. Ava and Vortex placed her in a wheelchair, and Vortex drove her towards the elevator. Equinox Moon screamed again in agony.

"Don't worry, Mrs. Equinox Moon. We're almost at the maternity ward. Now, take a deep breath and breathe." the doctor instructed. Equinox Moon frantically did as she was told. A moment later, they left the elevator at the maternity ward floor and rushed towards the ward where she would be giving birth.

The birth was long and hard, taking around five hours. As Equinox Moon was giving birth, her friends stood around her bed, while a confused and terrified Corn Cob watched from a waiting room behind the glass.

"HOW LONG, DOCTOR?!" screamed Equinox Moon.

"Not long now, Equinox. Now, breathe." the doctor said. She did as she was told, before she felt more and more pain.

"I CANT TAKE IT ANY MORE! PLEASE... HOW LONG?!" she screamed.

"NOT LONG NOW!" yelled the doctor. Just as Equinox Moon was preparing to take even more pain, a tiny scream filled the ward. The doctor was holding a tiny, blue-green foal with a dark blue mane. Her heart fluttered as the doctor passed her the foal.

"It's a boy, Mrs. Equinox Moon!" the doctor said. Immediately, everypony gathered in the ward clapped their hooves, including Corn Cob. Equinox Moon held the tiny foal in her hooves, and nuzzled him gently. Almost immediately, the colt seemed to calm down and snuggled against her body. She smiled at the newborn foal and sighed.

"He's beautiful..." she said.

"I agree! He has his mother's coat!" said Buttermilk.

"And his father's mane." said Ava. Suddenly, Corn Cob ran into the ward to see what all the commotion was about. He was noticed by Equinox Moon.

"Are you alright, Auntie?" Corn Cob asked, leaning against the hospital bed.

"Yes, young'n. I'm alright..." she replied, smiling. "Would you like to see him before you leave?"

"Sure thing, Auntie!" he replied and jumped onto Cowbell's back, looking down at the foal.

"He looks cool!" Corn Cob said. Equinox Moon chuckled lightly.

"Thank you, Corn Cob or should I say, Uncle Corn Cob, for telling everypony that I was giving birth. You handled the situation very well, and that was very brave of you." she said and smiled at the colt. "And thank you all for being by my side."

"Uncle Corn Cob?" asked a confused Corn Cob.

"Yes, Corn Cob. You deserve it." she replied.

"Congratulations, ma'am." begun the doctor. "Do you mind if I ask where his father is?"

"Well, I uh, don't want to talk about it, doc." she replied, thinking about Blazefire. She was scared and worried for his safety, and for that of her newborn son.

"I understand." the doctor replied. "Do you know what you're going to call him?"

"Well, me and my husband had brainstormed several names for him, but we both like the name Stormfire." Equinox Moon replied, snuggling the tiny foal.

"Stormfire, huh? I like it." replied the doctor, writing down his name and birth details on a notepad. Equinox Moon smiled, looking down at the tiny colt, who was snuggling against her and beginning to sleep. Equinox Moon sighed and smiled, before nuzzling the foal and allowing it to sleep. She was now a mother.

A week later...

After about a week undergoing extensive checkups, Equinox Moon and little Stormfire were let out of the hospital, and since Buttermilk and her family were gone to Equestria, she was taken home on a wheelchair by Vortex.

"So, how are you feeling?" asked Vortex.

"Pretty good, I must say." replied Equinox Moon, holding a sleeping Stormfire, who was wrapped up in a towel, in her hooves. "The doctor said we're fine and that I should be back to normal in about a week's time."

"So, what do you think?" Vortex asked.

"I'm just scared... You all said that I'll be a great mom, but I just don't know if I'm that good." replied Equinox Moon, who was feeling unsure of herself.

"Are you crazy? Of course you'll be a great mom. Any kid would be lucky to have you as their mom." Vortex replied.

"Thanks Vortex..." replied Equinox Moon.

"Hey. I know this seems new for you, but you'll get used to it, and over time, you'll become a truly unique and great mom." explained Vortex. "Besides, I see potential in this kid. Who knows? He could be the next Einspone, or the next Starswirl the Bearded. You may be the mom of a future genius."

"Thanks Vortex." she said and smiled at him. "Although, I'd prefer him to be himself and follow his dreams." she explained, and nuzzled Stormfire gently.

"I guess so." Vortex replied and smiled. "Look, we're almost home."

"Thanks, Vortex. You've been a great help." she said.

"I'm always happy to help a friend. Do you want me to walk you inside?" the gryphon asked.

"No, thank you. You've been a great help, but you should be getting back to work, Vortex." she replied.

"You sure?" he asked.

"Yep. I'm alright." she said.

"Alright, Equinox. Good luck." he replied. Equinox Moon smiled cheerfully at him and got out of the wheelchair, carrying her foal into the house. Vortex smiled and folded up the wheelchair, before flying back to the hospital.

Equinox Moon turned the keys and opened the door to the house and walked inside. She went to put Stormfire into his crib, not noticing an envelope marked PRIVATE and URGENT lying on the floor.

After putting Stormfire in his crib and snuggling him, Equinox Moon went downstairs to cook some food, noticing the envelope this time. Curious, she walked towards it and picked it up. It was damaged and wrinkled from being forced under the door, but that didn't stop her from reading who it was from. The envelope came from General Green Tree of the Equestrian military. Her heart literally skipped a beat. She knew that a letter from the Equestrian military usually didn't mean anything good, but her curiosity got the better of her and she opened the envelope and pulled out the letter stored inside it. Little did she know that the letter would change her life forever after reading it.

_Dear Mrs. Equinox Moon of Gryffsvale,_

_We regret to inform you that your husband, Sergeant Blazefire has been found dead today at 5 AM on the battlefield, presumably shot by Gryphon forces. We are very sorry for your loss and we have organized a private funeral, if you wish to attend._

Her heart stopped the moment she read that letter. Equinox Moon knew that he wasn't safe at war, but she wasn't expecting him to be killed. A tear rolled out of her eye, before she finally broke down and collapsed onto the floor, crying her eyes out. She had lost the stallion she loved. The stallion she married. The stallion she was going to raise a family with. She had lost Blazefire, but she hadn't lost Stormfire. She wasn't going to lose Stormfire. They had to get out of the Gryphon Empire. They had to escape to Equestria.

_On that fateful day, I lost my father, a pony I didn't know but held close to my heart until this very day. I wasn't aware of it, but we weren't safe, even in Gryffsvale. The Gryphon army was rapidly advancing and overtaking the Equestrian military. The war was getting bigger and badder every second. If you think I'll forgive those Gryphons, then you're wrong. I will never forgive the Gryphons that killed my father and almost destroyed my mother. I will avenge his death and I will fight for him, for my mother, for Equestria. I will keep ponies safe, no matter what the cost._

_My name is Stormfire, and this is my story._


	2. The New Pony

Six years later...

"Stormfire!" called out a voice. "Breakfast is ready!"

"But mom..." groaned Stormfire, who was still in bed. "I don't wanna go to school..."

"Nonsense, son. You'll enjoy it!" said the voice. "Now come on downstairs, alright?"

"Sure thing..." he replied, and jumped out of bed, sending the bed sheets flying across the room. He then zoomed down the stairs, into the kitchen, where his mother was frying pancakes.

"Good morning, son." said Equinox, putting a pancake onto a plate and giving it to Stormfire. "Here you go."

"Thanks mom." said Stormfire, who went to sit down at the table. A few moments later, Equinox sat down beside him, eating her own pancake.

"So, are you ready for your first day at school today?" she asked. The colt nodded in reply, his mouth being stuffed with pieces of pancake. Equinox chuckled to herself. "That's great, sweetie. Wow. Look at you. You've grown up so much... I remember the day when you were born... you were so small, and now... you're starting your first day at school. I'm so proud of you, son." she explained, almost shedding a tear. "_If only your dad could see you now..._"

"I have a dad?" Stormfire asked, before swallowing a large slice of his pancake. Suddenly, Equinox Moon's heart stopped. She almost spit out the food that was in her mouth, but instead she swallowed it up quickly and sighed.

"Mom?" Stormfire asked, visibly concerned. Equinox didn't reply to his answer, and instead seemed to grow more and more depressed by the moment. Stormfire put down his silverware and trotted up to his mom, nuzzling her softly. This calmed Equinox Moon down, and she begun to nuzzle his mane gently.

"So, where's daddy, mommy?" Stormfire asked.

"Dad-Daddy-Daddy's away on a business trip, honey..." she lied to him, knowing the damage it would cause him if she told the truth. "He'll be back in... a few months or something." Deep down in her heart, she regretted lying to Stormfire about where his father is, but she was afraid of what his reaction would be if she told him the truth.

"Oh. Okay mommy." replied Stormfire before going back to the table to finish off his pancake. Equinox sighed as a tear rolled out her eye, but she quickly wiped it away and went to wash the dishes.

A few moments later, Stormfire was done with his pancake and was taken to the school by Equinox. He was highly nervous about his first day at school, and he decided to talk to his mom about it.

"Mom?" said the small Pegasus, nuzzling against her wing.

"Yeah sweetie?" she asked.

"Will I fit in at school?" he asked her. "I mean, we're Pegasuses... aren't we?"

"We're Pegasi, sweetie." Equinox corrected him. "And you will fit in. I'm sure of it."

"But do you think I'll do good?" he asked.

"Of course I do." she replied and smiled at him. "Me and dad sure both think so. We're both so proud of you for reaching this stage in life, son."

"Thanks mom..." Storm replied and cuddled against her. Equinox smiled at him and nuzzled him. A few moments later, they reached the school. It was a stone-clad building with a wooden roof, similar to most of the houses in Gryffsvale. Storm hid behind his mother's wing just looking at the building and the students pouring into it. Most of the students were Gryphons. In fact, he couldn't see a single student which was a pony, which absolutely horrified the young colt.

"Mom-Mommy, why am I so different from all of them?" Storm asked. "Is it because I'm a pony?"

"Son, you're not different from them..." Equinox replied. "In fact, you may be a pony, but that isn't anything bad... in fact, being different is good. There is nothing wrong with diversity. We may all look different on the outside, but on the inside, we're the same. Remember that, son. It's not what a pony looks like that makes him a great pony. It's his heart and how he uses it."

"Thanks, mom!" he replied. Equinox smiled at her young colt, and nuzzled him.

"You'll do great, son. I love you so much." she said.

"I love you too mommy." replied the colt, who nuzzled her back. "See you later!" he said, trotting towards the school entrance and turning back to wave at her.

"Bye son!" she said, waving back to him and smiling. _I wish you could see this before your very eyes, Blazefire..._

After Storm entered the school, Equinox Moon flew away from the building towards the weather factory.

Stormfire walked through the school corridors looking around the different classrooms to see where his own one is. As he walked down the hallway of the large, and often quite intimidating building, he noticed several Gryphons passing him and eyeing him carefully. Some of them even stopped in their tracks to look at the lone Pegasus colt walking through the building. Storm looked around him to see what they were looking at, and begun to feel even more nervous than before. He even wanted to turn back and fly back outside into his mothers hooves, but he knew he couldn't. But, deep down inside, he was actually looking forward to his first day at school, despite being the only pony in a school made up of Gryphons. He took a deep breath and walked towards his classroom. The school bell still hasn't rang yet, so he still had some time left to get to class. Eventually, Stormfire reached the classroom and looked through the door. There were no ponies sitting there, only Gryphons, which saddened Stormfire. He knew from what his mom told him that being different wasn't a bad thing, but he still didn't like being different. He didn't want to be the only pony in the class.

After some reluctance, Stormfire walked into the classroom and looked around to see the Gryphons turn to look at him. Not knowing what to do, Storm chuckled to himself awkwardly and went to sit down at a vacant seat. The Gryphons continued to stare at him, confused by why he's here, but turned away when they heard the teacher came in. She was a tall, middle-aged gryphon, wearing a pair of large glasses and was carrying a notepad in her claws.

"Hello, students. My name is Mrs. Talons. Today, we're going to introduce ourselves and have a little bit of fun getting to know each other before we start our actual lessons tomorrow. But first of all, I'd like to register you all." the teacher said. Storm begun to feel awkward, being the only pony in a class full of Gryphons, but then he remembered what his mom said about being different. It didn't really matter what he looked like or if he was a Pegasus. What mattered was being kind.

Suddenly, the door opened, and a small light grey Pegasus filly with a dark blue mane trotted into the classroom, her parents standing outside the door. Stormfire raised his eyebrows as he looked at the filly trying to find a seat and a large smile begun to form on the colt's face. There he was, thinking that he was going to be the only Pegasus among Gryphons for the rest of his school years, but now, he was proven wrong.

"I'm sorry ma'am. We're a bit late..." her father said looking into the classroom.

"It's alright, Mr. Skyclean. In fact, you're right on time." replied Mrs. Talon, smiling warmly.

"You be good now, sweetie." said her father. The filly nodded in reply as she looked around the classroom to find a desk. Storm looked around as well, and noticed a vacant desk just beside his. His grin widened as he looked to see the filly walk up to the vacant desk. He now wasn't alone.

The timid filly sat down beside him, seeming very shy and scared. He knew the feeling. It was his first day at school, and instead of feeling excited, he was terrified. While the teacher was taking the register, he turned to face her and smiled. She awkwardly returned the smile.

"Rainwynd?" asked the teacher. The filly immediately turned away from Stormfire, and reluctantly put her hoof up. The teacher smiled at her and ticked her name on the notepad.

"Stormfire?"

"I'm he're, ma'am." the colt replied, and turned back to face Rainwynd. He felt sorry for her, and wanted to befriend her as soon as possible, but he was also worried. Very worried indeed. What if she didn't want to be his friend?

"Hey, uh. Do you talk?" Stormfire asked, trying to start up a conversation.

"Oh. Uh-Yes, I do talk..." the awkward filly replied. "I'm-I'm Rainwynd..."

"Oh." said Stormfire. "My name is Stormfire, but you can call me Storm. Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, I-it's just that... it's my first day here and I don't really feel comfortable." she replied.

"Hey, that's okay..." said Storm. "It's my first day here too, but once you get used to it, it's not going to be bad. Trust me."

"You sure?" she asked, her ears perking up a bit.

"Positive." replied Storm. "Hey, maybe we could be friends?"

"You'd want to be my friend?" Rain asked.

"Of course." replied Storm, smiling at her.

"Well, okay..." she said, and slowly but surely smiled. "Uh, do you want to play a game?"

"Sure." replied Storm. "What game?"

"Hm..." she thought to herself. "I can't really think of any game..."

"How about some hide n' seek?" suggested Storm.

"I don't know... I'm not good at hiding." replied Rain, feeling a bit unsure of herself.

"I'm sure you'll do fine. I'm horrible at hiding myself." said Storm. "So, you ready Rain?"

"Uh... I think so." she replied nervously. Storm gave her a reassuring smile.

"Alright then, you want to be the seeker?" he asked.

"Uh, no. Sorry..." she replied.

"Hey, it's alright. I can be the seeker if you want." he said, putting his hoof on her shoulder. A smile begun to form on her face. Before she came to the classroom, she was scared. What if she was never going to find a friend? What if everyone was going to bully her? Rain thought that she was never going to find a true friend, a friend with whom she can talk and spend the day, who she can trust with secrets, who she can joke with, and who she would feel safe around, but then she met Stormfire.

"Alright then. You're seeking!" she said and went off to find a hiding place. Storm smiled at her and went to count to ten. After finishing the countdown, Storm went to look for Rainwynd. She was far better at hiding than she said she was and it took Stormfire a while to find her. He was about to give up when he heard some giggling coming from underneath a table.

Storm peered under it and looked around, only to see Rainwynd hiding underneath a chair and laughing.

"Found you!" he said.

"Well, yeah. You did." she replied, struggling to contain her laughter. "After looking all over the classroom for me."

"Well, as you can see, I'm not good at seeking as well." Storm confessed, chuckling slightly.

"Nonsense. You're not that bad..." Rainwynd said and got out from under the chair. "Do you want to play a different game now?"

"Sure." Storm replied. "What do you want to play?"

"I don't know. He he." she answered awkwardly.

"Hm..." Storm replied. "How about we uh, go play with the Gryphons?" he suggested, pointing to a pair of Gryphons playing with some building blocks.

"Are you crazy?" she asked. "What if they're going to hate us?"

"They won't. Trust me. And just because they're Gryphons doesn't mean we can't trust them as well. My mom said that it's not how a pony looks like that makes him a good pony. It's his heart." he explained.

"I guess you're right... but still, I'm scared." she replied, hiding behind him. Storm sighed and turned to face her, before giving her a friendly and comforting smile. He was scared too, but he knew that it would get them nowhere if they cowered from the Gryphons. It would probably get them made fun of or something, and Storm didn't want that. Besides, they didn't look THAT scary.

"Hey, don't be scared." he said, smiling at her. "They won't bite. Come on."

"You sure?" she asked.

"Positive. Now let's go ask if we can play." Storm replied, feeling both excited and nervous at the same time. The colt and filly walked across the classroom, passing by Gryphons who were playing with alphabet blocks and dolls and other toys. Rainwynd was beginning to get more and more nervous every moment. As much as she trusted Stormfire, she still felt awkward walking by those Gryphons.

A moment later, they reached the Gryphons who were playing with the building blocks. Stormfire looked at them awkwardly and curiously. He was both incredibly nervous and very excited at the same time. This would be his first time talking to a real live Gryphon, well, not exactly the first time. There were those two Gryphons that hung out with his mom, but this would be the first time he would be talking to a Gryphon his age.

"Uh, I'm a bit nervous..." he whispered to Rain.

"Don't be!" she replied, putting her hoof on his shoulder. "Maybe they're going to be our friends. Who knows?"

"Hm... Maybe." he said, smiling at her. After some reluctance, Storm slowly walked up to one of the Gryphons and looked over his shoulder. The two Gryphons were building a tower of building blocks, which intrigued Storm. In fact, he wanted to help out, but he was scared. He was scared of asking the Gryphons, but then, he remembered what his mom told him before he went to school. Eventually, he forced himself to ask the Gryphons.

"Uhhhh..." Storm begun. The two Gryphons immediately turned to face him, which made him even more nervous than he already was. "I'm not sure if you're going to eat me and my friend if we ask you, but do you mind if we build something with you?"

"We? Eat you? I'd never do that!" the Gryphon angrily replied. "You ponies think we're some psychotic mindless killing machines, but some of us have heart too!" Storm wasn't sure what to say right now, but one thing was for sure. He didn't expect that kind of reply.

"We just wanted to ask if we can play with you guys." he sadly replied, heading back to his own desk, followed by Rainwynd. So far, he didn't really make any new Gryphon friends, which saddened Stormfire. All he wanted was to make friends with some of the Gryphons, but so far, it wasn't going that well.

"Hey! You can play with us!" said a voice. Storm and Rain stopped in their tracks and turned around.

"Huh?" he asked.

"Yeah. We won't bite, we promise!" one Gryphon replied and glared at the other Gryphon.

"But, they're ponies!" the other Gryphon replied.

"And so what if they're ponies? Just because they're not Gryphons doesn't mean that they can't be our friends..." the Gryphon replied.

"Whatever..." the other Gryphon said. "If they're gonna play with us, then leave me OUT of it... Alright?!"

"Okay, Lightning Wing. No need to get so angry." he replied. The Gryphon named Lightning Wing walked away and went to see if there are any other Gryphons to play with, while Stormfire and Rainwynd stood there in front of the Gryphon, not sure what to do.

"Hey. I won't bite. I promise." the Gryphon replied, with a friendly smile. "I'm Sharpbeak."

"Uh, I'm Stormfire." Storm replied awkwardly.

"And I'm-I'm... Rainwynd." Rain said, hiding behind Stormfire.

"Hey, relax..." Sharpbeak said. "Lightning Wing is well, he's not the friendliest Gryphon out there... but once you get to know him, he can be quite a nice guy..."

"You sure we can trust him?" asked Rainwynd.

"Yeah... kind of." replied Sharpbeak. "So, what do you two want to play?" he asked.

"Uh..." Storm begun. "Hm... I want to build something. How 'bout you, Rain?"

"I'm not sure..." she replied. "Uh. How about we play tag?"

"Okay." replied Sharpbeak, knocking down his brick tower. "Who's 'it'?"

"Uh. I'll be 'it'." said Storm.

"Alright then..." Sharpbeak replied and ran off, with Rainwynd following him. Storm chuckled to himself and ran after them. It took him a while to catch up with them, as Sharpbeak was a Gryphon and Rain knew where to hide.

Meanwhile, Sharpbeak was flying away from Stormfire as fast as he could, while Rain was watching them from the top of a cupboard (somehow not being noticed by the teacher or any of the other students), eating an apple that she took from her lunch box. She smiled as she watched Storm chased the Gryphon around the classroom. He seemed very fast and very agile, fast enough to catch Sharpbeak. She even started quietly chanting Storm's name as he ran around the classroom, trying to catch up to Sharpbeak.

"Stormfire, Stormfire, Stormfire, Stormfire, Stormfire, Stormfire..."

Then, at long last, Storm managed to catch the Gryphon.

"Gotcha!" Storm said as he caught Sharpbeak.

"Yeah... I'm a bit puffed out... What about you?" he asked, out of breath.

"Yeah, kinda..." Storm replied, heavily breathing.

"Hey, Rainwynd!" Sharpbeak called out, noticing the filly perched on top of the cupboard. "Want to play something else?"

"Okay..." she replied. "Lemme just get down to you guys."

"Okay." Storm replied. "Also, I don't really think you should be up there... It looks pretty unsafe."

"Relax, Storm. The teacher can't see me, so I'm not gonna get into trouble." she replied, grinning.

"Whatever you say, Rainy..." Storm replied, looking at her uncertainly. "Okay, just get down here, okay?"

"Okay, Storm." she replied and fluttered her wings, slowly taking off from the cupboard. Stormfire gazed at her in amazement. She was flying quite well for her age, while Stormfire had only a few flying lessons during the summer break before he joined the school. His mom promised him that he'd learn to fly after she found a suitable flying coach for him (her wing was struck by lightning while working to control a freak thunderstorm and was badly broken), but she could not find a good flying coach for Stormfire, at least not in Gryffsville.

Everyone in the clasroom turned to look at Rainwynd flying and gazed at her in amazement, including the teacher. Rainwynd was flying perfectly, far better than Stormfire thought. A few moments later, she swooped down and landed on the floor. Storm and Sharpbeak rushed towards her.

"Wow..." Sharpbeak begun. "That was awesome!"

"I agree..." Storm said, smiling.

Just then, the teacher came over, looking disappointed.

"Rainwynd?" she begun.

"Yes-yes ma'am?" she asked, feeling a bit intimidated.

"Please, don't go up there again." the teacher replied, with a hint of disappointment. "I don't want to see you or any of our other students get hurt."

"I'm sorry, ma'am. I was just hiding from Storm. We were playing a game." she replied, embarrassed.

"It's alright, little one. I'm just making sure you're safe. Okay?" the teacher asked.

"Yes, ma'am. I'll not go up there again." replied Rainwynd.

"That's good! Now, I'll leave you three to play." said the teacher, her smile returning to her face.

"How do you fly so well, Rainy?" Storm asked.

"Well, my mom used to work on the weather team back in Equestria. She was the best weather mare around and she knew all the weather patterns and the winds and stuff." Rain replied. "And she and dad both taught me how to fly."

"I learnt how to fly from my dad, who is the boss of the Weather Factory." Sharpbeak said. "What about you, Storm?"

"Well... uh..." Storm begun, growing a bit nervous. "My mom managed to teach me how to fly... but just a bit. She had some sort of injury on her wing and I never properly learned how to fly." he explained sadly.

"What about your dad?" asked Rain.

"He's away for a business trip, I think." Storm replied. "He should be back soon."

"Speaking of Equestria..." Storm begun. "I want to go there when I grow up..."

"Me too..." she replied.

"Me three!" Sharpbeak replied as well. "I don't know about you, but I always wanted to live there!"

"I always wanted to live in Applewood and be a huge star..." Rain replied. "And have everypony all over the world know me."

"Who knows?" Storm begun. "I'm sure you'll become a big star when you're older. I believe in you, Rainy." he explained, putting his hoof on her shoulder.

"And I believe in you as well!" Sharpbeak said. "You're both great friends!"

"For a Gryphon, you're pretty cool!" Storm said.

"I agree!" Rain said.

"Thanks guys!" Sharp replied. "Do you want to play something?"

"I'm not sure." said Rain.

"Me neither, to be honest." Sharp replied.

"Hm... wanna build something?" asked Storm.

"No thanks." replied Rainwynd.

"Same here. I'm hungry!" replied Sharpbeak, his stomach grumbling. Storm and Rain chuckled. It was time for lunch.

"So, Rainwynd." Storm begun, before biting into his cheese sandwich. "Who taught you how to fly again?"

"My mom and dad." she replied, before also eating her own sandwich.

"Uh, would they be able to teach me how to fly?" Storm asked.

"I think so. You'll need to ask them and ask your mom as well." she answered.

"Okay... I just want to fly as well as you. I mean, from what I've seen from you, you're pretty good." Storm explained.

"Thanks Stormy. Maybe my mom and dad will teach you." Rain replied, smiling.

"Hey guys." Sharpbeak begun. "We should have flying races once Storm learns how to fly."

"That's a good idea." replied Storm.

"Yep." Rainwynd said.

"Nope. It's not!" said a rather intimidating voice. Storm, Rain and Sharpbeak turned to face who it is. It was Lightning Wing.

"Hey Lightning." said Sharpbeak, feeling a bit intimidated by his friend.

"Hey, Sharpbeak..." replied Lightning Wing, glaring at Storm and Rain. "Want to play with us?" he asked.

"Well, I don't know, but I'm playing with Storm and Rain." Sharp replied, turning to face them. "How about you play with us?"

"Nope. You're better off playing with me and the others and not with them two ponies..." said Lightning Wing.

"Hey! They're not as bad as you think they are!" replied Sharpbeak, beginning to get irritated with his friend.

"They're not as bad?" asked Lightning Wing. "They're **horrible**!"

"And why are we horrible?" asked Stormfire, a glare forming on his face. Rainwynd hid behind him to avoid getting involved.

"**Shut it!**" barked Lightning Wing, now completely ticked off. "Wait... You're even worse than horrible! You're despicable!"

"Quit your whining, Gryphon..." Storm retaliated. "I didn't do anything to you and you're acting like I did!"

"You did a lot of things, pony." Lightning Wing replied. "And my dad knows exactly what your kind did!"

"You-your dad?" Storm asked, calming down almost immediately and slowly backing away.

"Yep. He's a sergeant in the Royal Gryphon Army!" Lightning Wing shouted. "And he could take you down, ANYONE of you down within seconds." Right now, Storm was feeling terrified and was actually trembling in fear. Lightning Wing's dad sounded like a very intimidating Gryphon, a very intimidating Gryphon indeed.

"Look-I'm sorry! Okay?! I'll not annoy you again!" Storm replied backing off even further. Rainwynd quickly hid underneath a nearby table to avoid being seen by Lightning Wing.

"You better not..." replied Lightning Wing threateningly.

"Or what?" butted in Sharpbeak.

"You stay out of this, Sharp!" shouted Lightning Wing, loud enough for Mrs. Talons to hear. "I thought I could trust you! I thought you were my friend! And you're hanging out with these... winged ponies?!"

"For your inconvenience, we're Pegasi!" yelled Storm.

"Quiet, you!" roared Lightning Wing.

"Boys, boys!" said Mrs. Talons. The arguing Pegasus and Gryphons turned to face her and immediately calmed themselves. "What is going on here?" she asked.

"No-nothing, ma'am!" Storm replied. "We're just playing a game..."

"You sure?" she asked. "It doesn't sound like a very friendly game."

"No ma'am." begun Lightning Wing. "He came over to me and my friends and knocked down my alp-alf-allpahb-"

"**Alphabet.**" Stormfire corrected him.

"Thanks." replied Lightning Wing. "So, he came on over to me and knocked down my ALPHABET tower..."

"Did you, Stormfire?" asked Mrs. Talons, looking very cross.

"No ma'am. I did not! I swear! He came over to me and started pestering me for no reason." Stormfire explained. She turned to face Lightning Wing and glared at him.

"Is this true, Lightning Wing?" she asked.

"Yes, ma'am." he replied, before turning to glare at Storm.

"Both of you. Apologize, now." Mrs. Talons said sternly.

"Okay..." grumbled Lightning Wing. "Sorry..." he said reluctantly.

"Yeah, I'm sorry too..." Stormfire replied, showing actual remorse.

"Thank you. Now, Storm. If he causes you any more trouble, please tell me, alright?" Mrs. Talons asked.

"Yes, ma'am." Storm replied, turning to face Lightning Wing and looking at him uncertainly.

"Good." she replied and smiled at him, before flying back to her desk.

"So..." Sharpbeak begun nervously. "Lightning Wing? Do you still want to play with us?"

"NO!" Lightning Wing replied. "I hate you, Sharpbeak. But most of all, I hate ponies! I hate them all! ESPECIALLY YOU! I will make your life a misery, Stormfire... Just you wait!" he roared at Stormfire, before flying off towards his friends.

"Oh, well..." Sharpbeak shrugged. "I'm sorry for him. He can be a bit... dramatic at times."

"Is i-it s-safe to come out?" asked Rainwynd, who was curled up underneath the table.

"Yes, it is. He's gone now." replied Storm. "You can come out, Rain." Rain did as he said and reluctantly came out from underneath the table to join Stormfire and Sharpbeak.

"What's his problem?" she asked.

"Well, he hates ponies from what I know..." Storm replied.

"I'm not sure what his problem is exactly... but I don't want him treating my friends like that." Sharpbeak replied.

"Was he your friend?" asked Storm.

"Yeah, back in Kindergarten, we were best buddies..." Sharpbeak replied. "I'm not sure what's gotten into him now."

"I don't know as well..." Rainwynd replied. "Let's just play a game or something."

"Okay!" Storm replied enthusiastically. "How about... hide n' seek?"

"Sure thing!" they both replied.

"You're seeking!" said Sharpbeak.

"Okay dokey." replied Storm and covered his eyes, before beginning to count up to ten. The Gryphon and the Pegasus filly went away from Stormfire, looking for a suitable hiding place. Sharpbeak found a hiding place underneath a table, while Rainwynd found a hiding place in between some books on a book shelf. Eventually, Stormfire finished counting and went to look for them.

It took a lot longer than he expected, but he found Sharpbeak hiding underneath the table, and after a long chase across the classroom, he finally caught the speedy Gryphon. But where was Rainwynd hiding? Was she even in the classroom? Was she next door? Storm didn't have the time to answer these questions. What he wanted to do was find Rainwynd. Eventually, after looking through almost every cupboard and every bookshelf in the class, Storm gave up. He could not find Rainwynd. She was a master at hide n' seek.

Just then, he heard some light giggling coming from behind him. He turned around almost immediately and saw Rainwynd peeking out from behind some books.

"Rainwynd..." Storm groaned.

"What?" she asked.

"How are you so good at everything?" Storm asked.

"I just am..." she replied, grinning, before pushing the books off the bookshelf and getting out of there. "So, who's seeking next?"

"I am!" replied Sharpbeak. Just then, the bell rang and the entire class lined up at the door. Unfortunately, it was time to go home. Storm couldn't wait to tell his mom about his first day at school, but he also did not want to leave his two friends behind. Then, an idea hit him.

"Hey guys..." Storm begun. "How about I ask my mom if you two can come on over, huh?"

"Sounds like a great idea!" Sharpbeak replied, lining up as well, followed by Stormfire and Rainwynd.

"I agree." Rainwynd replied. "Also, Storm?"

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Uh, thank you..." she replied, smiling at him.

"You're welcome." he said, returning the smile. "What for?"

"For being my first friend here, silly!" she replied, ruffling his mane slightly.

"My pleasure, Rainy." he replied.

"Okay, students!" Mrs. Talons begun. "I hope you've all had a swell first day here at Gryffsvale Elementary. Have you?" she asked. Suddenly, the entire class raised their talons (or hooves, in the case of Stormfire or Rainwynd). "That's great. See you all tomorrow!"

"Bye, Mrs. Talons!" the students replied and begun to pour out of the classroom.

After Stormfire waved goodbye to Sharpbeak and Rainwynd, he walked down the corridor and outside of the school building to meet his mom. Equinox was standing among the crowd of parents gathered outside the school and was waiting for Stormfire. Eventually she noticed him trotting towards her and smiled at him.

"Hey son!" she replied, nuzzling his mane. "How was your first day at school?"

"It was great, mom!" he replied. "I got to meet two new friends! One of them, she's a pony, while the other one is a Gryphon."

"Well, that's great, sweetie." she said. "You know that making a true friend is one of the greatest things that can happen to a young pony?"

"Is it?" Storm asked.

"Yep." Equinox replied, smiling. "Come on, let's head for home. I'm making your favorite today; hay fries and some salad..."

"Oh, goodie!" Storm replied, jumping around. "Thanks, mom."

"My pleasure, son." she replied, smiling warmly at him. As they walked towards the school gates, Storm looked to see Raindrop and Sharpbeak going to their respective parents and telling them about their first day at school. He waved at his two new friends, before going through the gate with his mom and heading for home.

_My first day at school didn't go as bad as I thought it would, mainly because I met the best friends I could ever meet. Rainwynd and Sharpbeak. But despite having two new friends, I also had to put up with an enemy. An enemy that won't leave me alone for the years to come. An enemy that picked on me for a long, long time. That enemy was Lightning Wing._


	3. Rolling Storm

**Four years later...**

It was an average summer afternoon in Gryffsvale, and while it wasn't especially hot, the heat got very unpleasant at times. The temperature on that day peaked at 96 degrees, which allowed the townsfolk to head out to the park or to visit the public pool. After finishing school for the week, Stormfire, Rainwynd, and Sharpbeak headed off to the park to play a game of tag, which was a favorite pastime of theirs and once it got too hot, they were planning on going to the ice cream stand.

"You're 'it', Storm!" shouted Rainwynd, tapping him on the shoulder lightly and running away towards some trees. Storm chuckled to himself and trotted after her, but not before being tapped on the back by something. Or someone, that is. He turned around to see what tapped him and noticed Sharpbeak standing in front of him, giggling uncontrollably.

"Come get me, Storm!" he shouted, before running towards some bushes. Storm chuckled to himself. He knew that Sharpbeak wasn't very fast and was easy to get, so he trotted after the Gryphon, who headed for the nearest tall tree in order to escape. Meanwhile, Rainwynd was up another tall tree and was watching Storm chase Sharp around the park.

"Go Storm, go! Go Storm, go!" she chanted repeatedly, doing so quietly in order to not be heard by Storm. Meanwhile, Storm chased Sharpbeak into a corner of the park, and while Sharpbeak could fly and easily get out of the park, the walls surrounding them were a bit too tall for him to fly over and escape.

"Nowhere to run now, Sharpie..." said Storm, slowly closing in on him. Sharp wanted to go around him but he knew he was too slow and that Storm would catch him in an instant. It seemed like the end was near for Sharp, who knew that he would be caught eventually by Storm.

"Dude... I'll give you all my hoofball magazines... all my toys, all my video games, no wait, not all my video games. Most of them are way too valuable. Just please, don't tag me!" Sharpbeak pleaded. Storm simply shook his head and continued to near him. Just then...

"HEY STORM!" shouted Sharpbeak, pointing to behind Storm. "What the hell is that?!" Storm immediately turned around to see what Sharpbeak was talking about, however he saw nothing, and when he turned around, Sharpbeak was gone. Storm turned around again to see where he could have went and his jaw dropped when he saw him flying towards some trees.

"Sharpbeak, get back here you cheat!" shouted Storm, knowing that in a game of tag, flying was out of the question. Sharpbeak simply turned around and stuck out his tongue at him, before taking a sharp left and going between the trees. Storm grumbled and ran up towards him, flapping his wings as fast as he could. Eventually, he managed to take off into the air and follow him.

"Come back here, you cheater!" shouted Storm, flying in between the same trees that Sharpbeak flew past. Sharpbeak turned around and grinned slyly at him, before landing on the same tree where Rainwynd was hiding. Storm chuckled to himself and aimed towards their tree. Suddenly, he lost control of himself and spiraled down towards a tree branch.

"AAAAHHH!" he shouted as he fell towards the branch.

"Stormfire!" shouted Rainwynd.

"I'll get him!" shouted Sharpbeak, taking off from the tree branch the two were perched on and flying towards Storm, who tried his hardest to regain control of his flight and miss the branch. But it was too late for that. Storm hit the branch and was knocked out cold.

"Ugh..." he groaned and opened his eyes. He looked around, confused about where he is, but then he noticed a picture of his mother and some stallion, which he presumed to be his father hanging on the wall.

"I'm back home..." he realized. "What the hell happened to me?"

Storm then got up and walked towards the door, but then he felt something trickle down his head. _Am I bleeding or something?_ he asked himself, before trotting to the bathroom as fast as he could and looking in the mirror. He had a wet cloth on his forehead, with something red pouring out from behind it. He shivered slightly as he looked at it. _I am bleeding..._ he thought to himself as he looked at the red fluid. But what exactly happened to make him bleed?

"Mooom!" he shouted.

"Can you come downstairs son?" his mom, who was cooking dinner downstairs, replied. Storm did as he was asked and trotted into the kitchen, where she was preparing hay fries and a tomato and lettuce salad. Rainwynd and Sharpbeak were sitting at the table.

"Hey guys." Storm said as he walked into the kitchen.

"Hey son. I'm so glad you're okay." replied Equinox, who nuzzled him.

"What happened to me, mom?" Storm asked, pointing at the makeshift bandage on his head.

"You fell onto a tree branch, Storm." said Sharpbeak.

"Yeah, you were knocked out cold..." explained Rainwynd.

"What the hay were you doing up a tree anyways?" asked his mom, now cross. "Don't you know it's dangerous to be up so high?"

"I was trying to catch Sharpbeak, who was flying away from me..." Storm replied, before turning and glaring at Sharpbeak. "Sorry, mom. Next time, I won't go up a tree."

"Yeah, about that..." begun Sharp, looking guilty. "Sorry."

"It's okay..." replied Storm, giving him a comforting smile. "Next time, just don't fly... because I can't."

"What do you mean you can't?" asked Rainwynd. "I've seen you fly before, Storm. You're amazing."

"No, I am not! Okay?!" Storm shouted at Rainwynd, who hid underneath the table. He sighed slightly. "Look, Rain..." he begun. "I never was good at flying... and I never will be."

"Oh, sweetie..." his mom said, hugging him. "You are good at flying. You just need to concentrate and try your best."

"Storm, maybe you're just not trying hard enough." said Sharpbeak.

"No, Sharpbeak. I tried my hardest... I've been trying my hardest for the past five years, and I've gotten nowhere." he explained, shedding a few tears and hugging his mother. Most Pegasi would learn to fly at age five or so and would become professional fliers at age six or seven, however there were some exceptions and Storm was one of them. He had flying lessons every summer break since his fifth birthday and so far, he hasn't really gotten anywhere. Some of the best flight teachers in Gryffsvale were hired to teach Storm how to fly, but they weren't much help. The only pony who could truly teach him how to fly was his dad, who was still away on his "business trip". This was the longest business trip Storm had ever heard of.

"Where's daddy, mommy?" asked Storm, crying into her coat. "Why isn't he here to teach me?" Equinox Moon sighed and shed a tear of her own. She finally realized that the "business trip" excuse wasn't going to work much longer and Storm was going to find out one day what really happened to Blaze. It was time to tell him the truth.

"I'll tell you where he is after we finish eating, okay?" she asked. Storm simply nodded in reply and continued to cry into her coat. She nuzzled him gently and sighed. _Why did I keep the truth hidden from you so long, son? I'm a horrible mother._

An hour later, Storm and Equinox had finished eating their dinner and while Storm went upstairs to play in his room, Equinox washed all the dishes and cutlery. Storm was in his room reading a magazine about ice hockey, which happened to be one of Storm's personal favorite sports. Just then, somepony knocked on the door.

"Come in!" said Storm. Just then, Equinox opened the door and walked into the room.

"Hey son." she said, smiling. "What are you reading?"

"Ice Hockey Elite magazine." Storm explained. "I bought it yesterday at the store. It has the results of the latest game between Gryffsvale and Gryfino."

"Really? Who won?" Equinox asked.

"Gryfino 2-1." replied Storm. "It's a real shame, 'cause Gryffsvale has better players."

"I guess so. Can I talk to you for a second?" she asked, a slight glare forming on her face, which was enough for Storm to notice.

"Did I do anything wrong, mom?" he asked, putting down the magazine.

"No no, you didn't." she replied, the glare being replaced by her usual, warm smile. She sat down on Storm's bed and sighed a sad sigh. "I want to tell you something, son."

"Yeah?" he asked.

"It's...it's about why your dad hasn't come home." She replied, her smile forming into a sad glare.

"Mom... what's wrong?" Storm asked, putting his hoof on her shoulder. She turned to face him and gave him a sad grin, before sighing again.

"He's dead, Stormfire." she explained, tears beginning to surge down her face. Storm's jaw dropped and his world came to a crashing halt. "He's been dead for the past ten years..."

Storm's heart literally skipped a beat after hearing his mom's statement. Back in third grade Storm realized that his dad has been away for way too long on his "business trips", but his mom had explained to him that he's a businesspony who travels the world, which calmed him down noticeably. But that was all a lie. He was no businesspony...

"So, you've been lying to me all this time?" Storm asked, his smile forming into a glare. "Why?!"

"Let me explain, please son." she replied, literally crying her eyes out. "Please..."

"All right..." grumbled Storm. Equinox sighed and wiped her eyes, before gulping.

"Okay..." Equinox begun. "I was in high school when I first met your father... He was unlike any stallion I have ever met. While most stallions disliked me for my looks and my "nerdy" nature..."

"You were a nerd in high school, mom?" Storm asked, trying to imagine his mom as a high school nerd.

"Yes, Storm..." she replied. "I was obsessed with becoming a meteorologist..."

"Isn't that some sort of weather scientist?" asked Storm.

"You are correct, son." she replied and smiled at him, before continuing. "So, you see, I wanted to become one so bad and while most mares and stallions my age had fun and partied a lot, I preferred to study, which led to me being highly unpopular."

"Wow..." Storm said.

"Yep." replied Equinox. "And while I was walking down the corridor to my next class one day, I wasn't looking where I was going and I accidentally bumped into your father, who was the stallion of my dreams. I mean, I've had one coltfriend before him, but he cheated on me with another mare... however, he apologized and we still keep in touch."

"So, that's who you've been writing to all this time?" Storm asked.

"Exactly. I either write to him, to the bank, or to Buttermilk, who lives in Equestria now. She was there when you were born. I think she lives somewhere near Cloudsdale." she explained. Storm's jaw dropped. He had heard a lot about the cloud city hovering near the magnificent Equestrian capital city of Canterlot, and how it produced most of the weather around that part of Equestria (with the exception of the Everfree Forest, which Storm had never heard of before in his life) and he was awestruck after realizing that his mom's best friend lived there.

"Anyways, your dad was unlike any stallion I had ever met before. He was kind, sweet, comforting, a real gentlepony, and he watched my back. After graduating from high school, I got a scholarship at the University of Baltimare, and it turned out that your dad got one as well." she reminisced, tears rolling out of her eyes. "Our relationship grew there and we spent every moment of the day together. Just after we graduated, he proposed to me... and then, before we moved here, we got married and I ended up pregnant with you." she explained, smiling, but then turned and sighed. "But our happiness didn't last very long."

"What happened?" asked Storm, now concerned.

"A war broke out between Equestria and the Gryphon Empire, and while it wasn't anything major, it meant we couldn't come back home until things were back to normal." she explained. "Now, Storm... your dad was a soldier."

Storm's jaw dropped. Blaze wasn't a businesspony who traveled the world. He was a soldier, protecting Equestria and all that is good from a possible invasion by the Gryphon Empire. Why did his mom lie to him about who his dad really was?

"And he had to go fight..." she explained, shedding a few tears. "It wasn't his choice, he just had to. And believe me, was it hard. A month after he left, I had you and everything seemed idyllic, but then, a week later, I got a letter from the military saying that he got killed by enemy fire."

Storm's heart stopped after hearing that and his eyes immediately begun to fill up with water. He tried to process what his mom just said, but his emotions got the better of him before he could finish. His father was dead and his mom kept it a secret from him for almost ten years...

"Why did you keep it a secret from me?!" he cried almost uncontrollably, before collapsing onto the bed and drenching the sheets with his tears. "Why?"

"Because..." begun Equinox, also crying her eyes out. "I didn't want you going through the same pain as I did when I found out he got killed, especially at such a young age... I'm sorry, son... I'm so, so sorry." she explained, stroking him gently. This calmed Storm down noticeably and he slowly got up off the drenched bed and jumped into Equinox's hooves, crying softly into her body. She hugged him as well and sighed deeply, before also breaking down.

"Why did he get killed, mom?" asked Storm, still crying. "Why can't he be here today?"

"Things like that happen, I guess, son..." replied Equinox, hugging him tightly and crying softly "But remember. If he was here today, he'd be proud of you... just like I am."

"Why be proud of me? I can't even fly properly!" explained Storm, still crying into her coat. "I'm no Pegasus. I'm not special in any way..."

"You are special, son. Don't say that you're not... Please." Equinox said, stroking him gently. "You're kind, you're friendly, you're helpful, and most importantly, you're my son, and I love you no matter what happens, and if he was here today, your father would say so as well."

"Thanks mom..." Storm replied and smiled at her slightly.

"You're very welcome son..." Equinox said and nuzzled him gently. "I'm a horrible mother for keeping it a secret from you for so long..."

"No, you're not..." Storm begun. "Please, don't say that, mom... Please. You're the best mother I could ever ask for... and I love you."

"I love you too son..." she replied and hugged him tightly. "I'm so sorry for keeping it a secret from you and lying to you."

The next day...

Storm was walking down the pathway leading home from school, still shaken by his mom's revelation and by what really happened to his dad. He was still angry at her for not telling the truth to him, but he decided to loosen up and chill out. After all, it did happen ten years ago and it didn't really affect him, so why was he so angry about it anyway?

"Hey Storm." said a voice from behind him. Storm stopped in his tracks and turned to face Rainwynd and Sharpbeak.

"Hey guys." replied Storm, a bit awkwardly.

"How's your forehead doing?" asked Rainwynd. He tapped the makeshift bandage gently, feeling little to no pain.

"It's better today. I think it should be fully healed by the end of this week." explained Storm.

"That's good." said Rain. "It looked pretty bad just a few days ago... Hey. What's wrong, Storm?" she asked, noticing he's acting strange.

"Nothing, nothing." he replied, looking as confused as before.

"No, something's definitely up." said Rainwynd, now concerned. Storm sighed, knowing that he couldn't lie to his best friend. However, before he could explain to Rainwynd why he's been acting so awkwardly, Sharpbeak started to speak.

"Yo, guys." begun Sharp. "Wanna get some ice cream or something? My mom gave me some money so I guess we could get some if you guys want."

"Sure!" replied Rain.

"Yeah, I want some as well." said Storm, his awkward face turning into a grin.

"Alright then, let's go!" replied Sharpbeak, who ran towards the café, two blocks away. Storm and Rainwynd trotted after him.

Meanwhile...

After making lunch, Equinox didn't have much to do. While she waited for Storm to come home from school, she decided to listen to some music on the radio, which usually calmed her down. She walked across the living room and sat down on an armchair lying against the wall and flipped the remote to the radio. Within seconds, the old radio which she bought at the marketplace came to life and started playing music. She tapped her hoof to the rhythm of the music playing on the radio, however the music was interrupted by a sudden announcement.

"Breaking news! The governments of Equestria and the Gryphon Empire have declared peace after ten years of fighting and a formal peace treaty has been signed by Princess Celestia of Equestria and Emperor Longclaw of the Gryphon Empire. All communications and trade between the two countries is scheduled to resume shortly and every Equestrian airship will be removed from Gryphon soil within this week. All Equestrian soldiers will return back to Equestria, while Gryphon soldiers will return back to their stations. Emperor Longclaw is scheduled to step down as Emperor and is expected to give the title to his son, Baron Broadbeak, saying that he was unworthy of the title from the beginning and hopes that his son will be a better Emperor than he is."

Equinox sighed a happy sigh and turned off the radio, before shedding a few tears of her own. She had lived through one of the most deadliest wars in recent history along with her son, however Blaze wasn't there to witness the war's end. He didn't come home and pull Equinox and Storm into a loving embrace. He didn't come back a war hero. He was dead, and she had to come to terms with it.

Equinox wiped her eyes with a cloth she had lying close by, and after putting it away, she went over to the window to see if Storm was coming back home, however all she saw was ponies and Gryphons alike marching down the street, shouting chants of "LONG LIVE PEACE!" and "WAR'S OVER!" and singing cheerful songs. It made her smile, seeing species so different from one another mingling with each other and enjoying their company.

One of the members of the "parade" came up to her door and knocked wildly on it. She turned the key and pulled down the handle, revealing a rather drunk-looking stallion, accompanied by two Gryphons, who were both sober and were looking after him.

"Mrs... Equinox, ma'am..." begun the stallion, almost incomprehensibly. "We won... war's over! Ha ha!" he slurred cheerfully, before handing her a glass mug of beer. "It's free..."

"No, no thank you." she replied awkwardly and nudged it back towards them gently. "I don't drink..."

"No, no... This is special." he coaxed. "From me... to you."

"That's... awfully nice of you, but no thanks..." she replied even more awkwardly than before. It's not every day she had a drunk on her doorstep, and she wasn't liking this drunk one bit.

"Oh come on, lady..." the stallion moaned, almost incomprehensibly. "You know you want it... Equestrian beer makes the world go... around."

"Leave her alone, buddy." said one of the Gryphons.

"You heard, you stupid ass?" shouted one of the Gryphons at the drunkard stallion. "The lady doesn't want a drink... now let's go."

"I hope he wasn't giving you any trouble, ma'am." the Gryphon said and bowed respectfully. "If he was, he'll have me to deal with."

"Thank you for dealing with him." Equinox replied. The Gryphon, who she presumed was a City Guard (the Gryphon Empire's equivalent of a Royal Guard in Equestria) saluted her politely and begun to drag the drunk stallion away from her porch.

"Okay... fine." the slurring stallion almost murmured, before being practically dragged away by the much bigger and much more athletic Gryphons. As she watched the two Gryphons drag the drunk stallion down the street, she gave a sad sigh. _If you were here, Blazefire, then I'd never have any problems with ponies like him..._ she thought to herself, and tried to imagine Blazefire tackling a pony who was pestering Equinox like a hoofballer tackling his opponents. She chuckled lightly and watched the parade move down the street, before sighing and going back inside.

Meanwhile, Stormfire and his friends were drinking something cool at the local café.

"Oh my..." squealed Rainwynd. "These are some of the best smoothies I have ever tried!" she explained, slurping up a strawberry smoothie. "Thanks Sharp!"

"I agree..." Storm replied, drinking a chocolate milkshake. "These are amazing! You shouldn't have. Thank you."

"Aww, you guys..." Sharp grinned. "It's no biggie."

"So, what do you guys want to do after we finish?" Storm asked.

"Well, I don't know, really..." replied Rainwynd. "Wanna go to the park?"

"Sure!" the colt and the Gryphon replied In unison.

After finishing their drinks, the three friends headed off to the park, only to be stopped by a certain someone...

"So, who do you think should have won Sunday's ice hockey game? Gryfino or Gryffsvale?" asked Storm.

"Gryffsvale, no question." replied Sharp. Just before Rainwynd was about to give her answer, she was interrupted.

"Nah, they suck." replied a voice that all three of them recognized too well. It was Lightning Wing, who came out of an alleyway with two of his cronies. Storm and his friends groaned. "And you do as well, ponies..."

"What's wrong with being a pony?" asked Rainwynd.

"Everything." he replied. "You're the ones who started this war, you warmongering beasts."

"No, it was actually you Gryphons who started the war." Storm explained, anger boiling inside him.

"Prove it." challenged Lightning Wing. Storm was seriously fighting the urge to punch Lightning Wing in the face, but just before he could do so, Rainwynd came in to stop him.

"Stormy, I don't think he's worth it." Rainwynd said, putting her hoof on his shoulder.

"Rain's right, Storm." replied Sharpbeak.

"Oh, who's that?" asked Lightning Wing, looking at Storm and Rain. "Your marefriend?" Storm and Rain turned to look at one another, a large blush forming on both of their faces. While they were pretty good friends with each other, neither one of them had any feelings for one another.

"Uh, no!" replied Storm. "She's just a friend."

"Come on, guys... let's go." said Sharpbeak.

"You know, Sharpbeak..." Lightning Wing begun. "We used to be pretty good friends with each other... and then you left me for those... ponies!"

"They're better friends than you'll ever be!" shouted Sharpbeak.

"Leave him alone, Lightning. Leave all of us alone." Storm warned, a glare forming on his face almost instantaneously. "Or you'll have me to deal with."

"Storm, let's go... now!" said Rainwynd.

"Oh, it's on pony!" Lightning replied, pushing Storm into the alleyway and without warning, throwing himself at him. His goons also thew themselves at Storm, trying to attack him. Storm rolled from underneath the dogpile, bringing it down instantly and trotted towards Sharpbeak and Rainwynd. However, he was too late to reach them as he was brought down again. The two goons brought Storm down and begun to hammer him with punches. They were much bigger than Storm was, and by the time they were done, Storm found it hard to move. He tried to roll towards a nearby trash can, but Lightning Wing stepped on his hoof with one of his talons.

"GAAH!" cried Storm as he watched the talon cut his hoof.

"You know, pony..." begun Lightning Wing. "I've hated you and your marefriend..." He said, turning towards Rainwynd, who didn't know what to do to prevent their fight. "...for a while now."

"Yeah?!" Storm asked, tears forming in his eyes. "Why?!"

"Because you ponies are horrible creatures!" he shouted, delivering a devastating punch to Storm's face, almost knocking him out and leaving him with slight claw marks on his face.

"And you think you Gryphons are any better?" Storm asked. "What did I do to deserve this?!"

Lightning Wing didn't reply to his question and instead prepared to deliver another devastating blow to Storm, however just before he did so, he was stopped.

"What is the meaning of this, Lightning Wing?!" asked a loud, almost booming voice. Storm opened his eyes and looked to see where the voice was coming from. It was a large Gryphon male wearing a "GO GRYFFSVALE!" t-shirt, which he presumed to be Lightning Wing's father. Beside him was Storm's mom, who was looking at him and Lightning Wing in fear and a City Guard, who looked very angry. "I had to leave work early because of your little scuffle here."

Lightning Wing immediately got up off the ground and trotted up to his father, nuzzling his wing. Storm, although much weaker and more vulnerable, also got up off the ground and slowly walked up to Equinox, nuzzling her side. She wrapped her wing around him and sighed. Lightning Wing's father was less lenient and tried to push him away from him.

"This isn't what I expected from you, son." he scolded him. "This isn't how a true Gryphon behaves."

"But he started it!" he shouted at Stormfire, who was nuzzling Equinox's wing.

"I didn't..." a tearful and cut up Stormfire replied. "You did."

Both parents and the City Guard looked at Lightning Wing with glares on their faces. Lightning Wing sighed and begun to tear up, when suddenly he heard a low rumbling sound in the air.

"What is that noise?" he asked, getting almost everyone's attention (except Storm's, who was still hugging his mom). The noise became more noticeable and ponies on the street begun to run away from where it was coming from. The City Guard walked up towards the entrance of the alleyway and looked at the source of the rumbling and noticed three airships flying overhead at low speeds, clearly marked EQM and had a picture of a burning sun painted on the sides. This did not mean good.

All traffic in downtown Gryffsvale came to a screeching halt, resulting in several accidents as Gryphons and ponies alike turned their eyes away from the road to look at the approaching airships. The airships begun to fly directly over the alleyway, allowing the Gryphons and ponies to get a clear view of them. Suddenly, a low whistling sound emanated from above, which grew louder and louder and caught everyone's attention. Projectile-shaped objects were released from each airship and seemingly grew larger as they approached ground level. This definitely did not mean good.

"Run everyone!" shouted the City Guard in a strong Gryphon accent, dragging Lightning Wing's two cronies, who Storm presumed were his sons.

"Storm, get on my back, now!" shouted Equinox. Storm climbed onto her back and she managed to trot out of the alleyway just before the objects landed on the town. Lightning Wing climbed onto his dad's back and he ran out of the alleyway, but one of the bombs landed on a building surrounding them. The bomb ripped through the building and blew it up, sending Lightning Wing off his father's shoulders and showering him with debris.

"LIGHTNING WING!" he shouted as he rushed towards his son, who was trapped under layers of brick and rubble. The young Gryphon stuck out from underneath the rubble, barely able to reach his dad.

"Dad, help me..." he said, looking upwards to see another airship circling overhead. "Please!"

"Don't worry, son. I'll get you out of there!" shouted the older Gryphon, trying to pull the debris off his son. Meanwhile, Storm and Equinox were continuing to trot down the road towards home, when another bomb landed, this time on a small apartment building, blowing it up and causing what remained of it to land on a carriage. The road home was blocked and they had to go around. Another bomb landed on the opposite side of the street, blowing the office block standing there to smithereens and lifting a parked milk carriage into the air. Storm was utterly terrified. He had never witnessed so much destruction taking place and he could tell Equinox was feeling the same way. Suddenly, the two heard a cry for help and turned towards it. It was at the same alleyway where Storm had that altercation with Lightning Wing, or rather, what remained of it.

"HELP!" the cry sounded again and those who still remained on the street after the bombings rushed towards the source of the sound, including Equinox and Storm. The airships left towards a different part of town, which allowed them to go help whoever it was that needed help. It turned out that it was Lightning Wing who needed help. His dad already took much of the debris off his back and threw it aside, but there was still some corrugated metal and concrete lying on him.

"Dad, please!" shouted Lightning Wing, obviously in pain. "It hurts!"

"It won't be long now my son." his dad replied, trying to pull off a heavy sheet of metal along with a few other Gryphons and stallions. However, the metal barely budged. His dad sighed, before turning to look at Equinox and Storm. "Can you help us please?" he asked, before noticing some of the airships approaching again. "Hurry!"

"You got it." replied Equinox, who grabbed the metal with her hooves and tried to pull it up. Storm looked at Lightning Wing lying under the rubble and groaned, and not just because he was in pain. He was thinking whether to help Lightning Wing or not, especially since he practically cut him up a little while ago. There was a part of him saying 'Don't do it! He bullied you enough for the past few years. It'd be better if you left him behind and went for safety.' and there was another part of him saying 'Help him. He might have bullied you for the past few years, but maybe he's just as insecure as you are and maybe he's just looking for a friend.'. Storm didn't know what to do at this point, however he couldn't watch anypony suffer, whether it's a Gryphon or a pony. Despite the injuries he suffered at the claws of Lightning Wing, he felt like he just had to help the poor Gryphon, whether he wanted to or not.

He immediately got off of Equinox's back and fluttered his small wings and begun to help push the sheet of metal upwards. With everyone's help, the sheet of metal was lifted up into the air. Lightning Wing turned to look at Storm helping push the sheet of metal upwards.

"Storm, why are you helping me?" he asked. "I bullied you for practically the last four years."

"I can't watch you suffer, no matter how much you've bullied me." he simply replied, before fluttering his small wings and slowly pushing the sheet of metal even higher than it was before. He landed on the ground, obviously out of breath and tired. Gryphons and ponies managed to lift the metal up and placed it against what remained of the building. Next, they had to remove parts of a concrete wall that landed on Lightning. The wall weighed far more than the corrugated metal and could easily have broken Lightning's back if he hadn't bent his body. Storm groaned, obviously in more pain than he was before, but decided to try his luck and help remove it off Lightning's body. Before doing so he turned to look at the approaching airships, which flew ever nearer to the downtown part of Gryffsvale.

It took a lot of effort on everyone's part to lift the crumbling wall off the Gryphon. Storm was trying particularly hard, picking up all the smaller fragments of concrete and throwing them into the rubble of the building and then helping the adults throw the destroyed wall into the pile of rubble behind Lightning Wing, who although extremely weak, examined the damage with his father. After doing so, he walked up to Storm, who was dusting himself off from the dust and the cement.

"I guess I owe you an apology..." he begun. "You were right, Storm. I'm a horrible Gryphon. I'm a horrible, horrible Gryphon!" the young Gryphon shouted, almost breaking down in the process. Although reluctant at first, Storm put his hoof on his shoulder.

"You're not..." he comforted him and smiled at him.

"I'm sorry for everything, Storm." Lightning Wing said. "For bullying you, for attacking you with my friends... I guess we just didn't realize how horrible we Gryphons can be at times. And thank you for helping to get me out of that mess."

"Yeah, we're sorry too." his cronies replied. "We just didn't like ponies very much."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sorry as well..." Storm replied.

"For what?" they gasped.

"I almost didn't help you today..." Storm replied.

"You didn't?" asked Lightning Wing. What changed your mind?"

"I don't know." shrugged Storm. "I guess I felt sorry for you, plus I couldn't bear seeing you or anyone else suffer."

"Maybe we can be friends?" asked Lightning Wing. "If you'd want to, of course..."

"Sure!" replied Storm and smiled at them. "Maybe we can be friends."

Equinox was watching the four ponies mingle and her expression turned from a glare to a smile. He had finally made peace with the bully who was ruining his life.

Lightning Wing was then taken to hospital for a checkup and then taken home to get some rest, while Equinox and Storm walked home through what remained of downtown.

"What you did back there Storm, was very brave and noble." explained Equinox to Storm, who was on her back, obviously very weak. "Especially to a Gryphon who bullied you relentlessly."

"I felt like I had to. I couldn't watch him suffer..." explained Storm. "Even though I don't really like him much, he was suffering too much. I had to help him, mom."

"Your dad would be so proud of you, sweetie..." she replied with pride in her voice. "Because I am."

Suddenly, both of them turned their eyes to the armada of airships in the sky, turning away from the downtown area and flying away into the afternoon sky.

"The ships left..." Storm replied. "I thought they were going to bomb us again."

"It looks like they wouldn't anymore, son. Maybe they received radio orders to head back to base." Equinox replied and looked at the destroyed street. There were fireponies and Gryphons alike putting out the fires caused by the bombings and there were Gryphons cleaning up the debris off the streets. Storm yawned and thought to himself. _Well, this has been an eventful day..._ he concluded.

Just over twenty minutes later, the mother and son returned home, or rather to what remained of it. The once magnificent house was now a burned out shell. Only one room was standing, and that room belonged to Stormfire. The rest of the rooms were destroyed by the blast, including Equinox's, of which all that remained was a destroyed bed and a picture.

Equinox sighed sadly, before letting out a tidal wave of tears. Noticing this, Storm trotted up to his mom, and hugged her as tightly as he could. The distraught mare returned the hug and nuzzled her son gently. The house which she brought with Blazefire just after their wedding, the house in which she raised and nurtured her only son, and the house they called home was gone. It was no more...

After the hug was over, she asked him if he could get the picture, which lay beside the destroyed bed. Storm trotted past the bed and picked up the picture, and looked at it. It was the same picture Storm saw just after he regained consciousness after that little accident. The picture was of Equinox and Blaze, just after their wedding, and although the frame was partially destroyed and the glass protecting it was cracked, he still saw the picture. _So this is what dad looked like..._ he thought to himself, looking at the light blue stallion with an orange mane. _I think he looks kinda cool._

Storm brought the picture for his mom to study. After a moment of silence, his mom finally turned to him and spoke.

"Son?" she begun.

"Yeah?" Storm replied.

"You know what your dad always wanted before he died?" she asked.

"What?" asked Storm.

"He wanted to move back to Equestria with me and you." Equinox explained. "And since we have nothing left here, I think it's high time we move back to where we belong."


	4. Moving to Equestria

A month later...

_Dear Equinox,_

_I don't know if this letter will get through to you. I sure hope it does. I've heard of what happened in the Gryphon Empire. Are you and Storm okay? If so, thank Celestia. If I found out you two were dead, I wouldn't know what to do._

_Enclosed in the envelope in which this letter came in are the two tickets for an airship to Cloudsdale that you asked me to send, one for you and one for Storm. This is your chance to move to Equestria, Equi. Once you come back, you and Storm can live with me if you want, until you get back on your hooves. I hope to see you and Storm soon._

_Yours sincerely,_

_High Wind_

A slight smile begun to form on Equinox's face as she finished reading the letter from her old friend and ex-coltfriend High Wind. Although she kept in touch with him ever since she and Blazefire arrived in the Gryphon Empire almost 11 years ago, she begun to write to him almost on a daily basis after Blaze's tragic death on the battlefield. Despite cheating on her in high school with a more down-to-earth and 'modern' mare, he genuinely cared about her and liked her a lot, and after some time, he dumped the mare (who turned out to be a selfish snob who cared about nopony other than herself) and tried his hardest to apologize to Equinox. He succeeded and tried his hardest to become her coltfriend again, but failed after realizing that she already had Blaze. However, the two remained friends even after she moved to the Gryphon Empire and sent letters to one another regularly.

Equinox shook the envelope and spilled out its contents onto the kitchen table; two airship tickets for Equestrian Air, which less than a month ago resumed flights to the Gryphon Empire (due to the peace treaty being signed between the two nations). She examined the tickets carefully, which had her and Storm's personal and flight details printed on them in big block letters. The airship was meant to take off from Gryfino Airport, which lied around 50 miles to the north of where they were currently staying. Where were they staying, you may ask. Well, after the bombing of Gryffsvale, in which more than a quarter of the town lay in ruins, including their house, Ava and Vortex took them to live with them in their holiday home, around forty miles north of Gryffsvale near another city, for the time being, until they managed to either find a home or move back to Equestria. Storm still went to school, like usual, but went to school in an old, abandoned warehouse, which proved to be highly uncomfortable, unpleasant and even quite creepy at times. Sharpbeak and Rainwynd's homes were also damaged by the bombings, and their families were also forced to relocate. Rainwynd lived the closest to Storm and he frequently visited her after school and even begun to walk with her to school at times when her parents were at work or helping clean up the damage in Gryffsvale. Sharpbeak lived a few miles from where Storm lived, so it was much harder for them both to see each other.

Equinox dropped the tickets she was holding in her hooves, scattering them across the table and sighed. She had no idea what to expect from moving back to Equestria or what Storm would think of the move, but realized something. They were homeless and stayed at Ava and Vortex's house while their house was being rebuilt. She felt like a burden for Ava, who did all she could for them to get their own house in places like Gryfino, Greffors or the capital city of Avion. The homes in those places simply costed way too much and if Ava did buy them a house in either of those places, she and Vortex would probably go broke. Equinox sighed. It was time for them to move back to where they came from. They couldn't stay at the holiday home for longer.

Just then, the front door opened and Storm trotted into the house.

"Hey mom!" he said, putting his backpack down on an armchair in the living room, before walking into the kitchen where Equinox was sitting.

"Hey son." Equinox replied and nuzzled him before putting the letter down on the table.

"Who's the letter from if you don't mind me asking?" asked Storm, looking curiously at the envelope.

"An old friend of mine. His name is High Wind and he lives in Equestria." explained Equinox. "Storm, sweetie?"

"Yeah?" asked Storm.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" asked Equinox.

"Sure." he replied and sat down beside the table.

"We're finally moving back to Equestria, sweetie!" she explained, grinning. "High sent me this letter because he got the tickets for our airship to Equestria."

"That's nice and all..." Storm said, his smile slowly fading away from his face. "But I want to stay here..."

"Son, we can't keep living here with Ava and Vortex, and a home for us costs lots..." she explained.

"And what if we can live with them?" Storm countered.

"We just can't." Equinox begun. "It's their home, not ours."

"But if we move..." Storm replied. "What will happen to my friends?"

"I'm sorry, son..." she begun. "You'll just have to find new ones."

"Can I just keep in touch with them?" he asked.

"Sure." Equinox replied. "If you want, you can write to them on a daily basis."

"I don't know... This is all too sudden, mom." he replied. She sighed and nuzzled him gently.

"It's sudden for me as well, son..." she started. "But let's face it. We can't live at the holiday home forever."

Just then, Stormfire realized his mom was right. Vortex and Ava were being very kind to them by giving them shelter and Storm begun to feel like they were taking advantage of them. But he didn't want to leave his friends behind, especially Rainwynd, who he was closest to. Their friendship grew stronger and stronger everyday, eventually reaching a point where the other foals at school begun to think that they were coltfriend and marefriend. Both of them were good friends, but they weren't THAT close. For now, that is...

Ever since the bombing of Gryffsvale a month ago, Storm and Lightning Wing have become fairly good friends. Both frequently visited each other, and did "colt" stuff like playing video games, watching Saddle Arabia or Bitaly play against the Gryphon Empire (now known as Aerovis) in a friendly game of hoofball or playing pranks on unsuspecting strangers. Ovet time, Storm learned that even though he may seem mean and threatening on the outside, Lightning Wing is soft on the inside.

As Sharpbeak lived quite far from where Storm lived, the two only saw each other at "school" or bumped into each other at times when in town. Even though they didn't see one another as much as they used to before the bombing, they still were good friends with one another.

"I guess you're right, mom..." he replied, nuzzling her. "I just don't want to leave them behind..."

"I understand, son." she replied, stroking his mane. "I felt the same way when we moved to the Gryphon Empire..."

"Isn't it called Aerovis right now?" asked Storm.

"Yeah, I guess so..." she answered, smiling at him. "Before I moved here with your dad, I didn't want to move and leave behind my best friends... but then I realized that they stay with you forever if you hold them in your heart."

"Wow. That's pretty deep." Storm said. "I never thought of it like that."

"Yep." she replied. "So, as long as you think of them and keep them in your heart, they're never away."

"I never thought of it like that, mom..." Storm said and hugged her. "Thanks for the advice."

"No probs, son." she replied, returning the hug. "I'll always be there for you."

"Thank you, mom." Storm replied and smiled, but his smile shortly gave way to an unsure expression. "But how can I explain to my friends?"

The next day...

Storm and Rainwynd walked down the road towards their respective homes after a long day of school. Every once in a while, he turned to face her, trying to tell her about the move to Equestria, but he could never get the words out. As much as he wanted to explain to her where they were moving and why, he was worried about her reaction and that the fact that it could end up damaging their friendship, maybe forever. But, he decided to take a chance and at least try to explain it to her.

"So, Storm..." she begun. "Are you excited for the big game between Gryfino and Aerozon?"

"Uh, yeah..." he replied. "I'm really hoping for Aerozon to win. They have one of the best players on the entire league."

"Who is it?" asked Rainwynd.

"I can never pronounce his name properly..." admitted Storm. "It's a very Gryphon name."

"Okay then." replied Rainwynd. "I hope Aerozon win as well..."

"Hey, Rain?" asked Storm.

"Yeah?" she asked in reply.

"I don't know how to tell you this, but..." Storm begun. "I'm moving to Equestria..."

Just then, Rainwynd's smile faded away and turned into a confused expression.

"Woah." she begun. "You're leaving, just like that?"

"No..." replied Storm. "As soon as we found out our home was destroyed, mom's been trying her hardest for us to either get a home here or move back to Equestria."

"And?" she asked.

"We couldn't find a suitable home for us anywhere in the country..." Storm explained. "So, we have to move back home."

Rain's previously confused expression slowly changed into a glare, just as Storm expected.

"Well, it looks like you don't care about me or Sharp anymore, don't ya?!" she barked. "What kind of a friend are you?!"

"Are you kidding?!" Storm retaliated. "Of course I care about you both! We just can't stay here anymore..."

"Yeah, right!" sobbed Rainwynd. "You're only saying that because you want to hang out with that crook Lightning Wing."

"For your information, Lightning Wing is not a crook!" Storm shouted, so loud that Rainwynd jumped into the nearest bush and covered her ears with her hooves. "You're the one that's acting like a crook, you whiny little brat!"

"Excuse me?!" she barked from inside the bush. "How am I a crook?! Oh, and how am I a brat?!"

_Did I really just say that?_ he asked himself. _Oh buck..._ he cursed under his breath and mentally facehoofed himself.

"Just go away, Storm..." she shouted, sobbing.

"Look, Rain... I'm sorry, okay?!" he shouted after her, but at this point, it was too late.

"No, Storm. You're not." she simply replied, and trotted towards her home, sobbing. Storm sighed and turned towards his home, which was just across the road. A tear rolled out of his eye as Storm tried his hardest to process what in the hay just happened. He had lost the first friend he ever made, all because he explained to her that he was moving home. Did he explain it to her wrong? Did she misinterpret it? Storm had no idea. All he knew was that he lost the first and possibly the greatest friend he ever made.

He opened the door to the holiday home and walked into it, head hung low. He looked into the living room to see Equinox listening to the news on the radio and sighed. How was he going to explain what happened to his mom?

"Hey mom..." he said in a depressed voice, before trotting upstairs.

"Hey, son." she replied. "How was your day?"

After not getting a reply, she got off the armchair and went to see where Storm could have went.

"Son?" she asked, again not getting a reply. "Son, where are you?"

Just then, she heard some crying coming from upstairs, quiet, but still audible. Equinox trotted upstairs to check on her son, and her heart literally sunk when she saw him crying into his bed.

"Son..." she said, before coming up to him and sitting beside him on the bed.

"Hi mom..." was all he said in reply, still crying into the now-drenched bed sheets.

"Rough day, huh?" she asked, stroking his mane gently with her hoof.

"Yeah..." he replied. "You don't know the half of it..."

"What happened, son?" she asked.

"I lost my best friend today, all because of that stupid move..." he explained, hitting the mattress with his hoof in order to emphasize his point. The words he spoke struck her heart harder than an arrow from a crossbow. She had no idea the move was going to be such a hard thing for him to go through, but she knew the feeling herself...

"Stormy..." Equinox begun, also tearing up. "I'm sorry we have to move... but we have no choice."

"Yeah, right..." he replied.

"Do you think I'm lying or something, Storm?" she asked in a stern voice. "Look around you. This isn't your room, the room where I sleep isn't my room. This isn't our house, for crying out loud. The only reason why we're here and not living on the streets is because Vortex and Ava have been kind enough to let us live here until we get back on our hooves. Understand me?" Equinox didn't get a response, only more crying. She sighed and sat down beside him. Storm moved himself towards her and snuggled against her wing, which she opened and wrapped around him.

"Look, Storm, sweetie..." Equinox begun. "We just can't take Ava and Vortex's kindness for granted, okay? We need to find our own place in the world, and I know it's hard for you. It's hard for me as well, believe it or not."

"It is?" asked Storm, turning to face her, his face drenched in tears.

"In fact, it's very hard for me." she replied. "I haven't been in Equestria for over a decade now. I don't know what it's like nowadays and I really don't know anyone there..."

"What about the guy who you write to?" asked Storm.

"Ponies change. He may have changed since the last time I saw him in person..." Equinox replied. "For better or for worse... I don't really know."

"What was he like the last time you saw him?" asked Storm.

"He was a little gruff and tough at times on the outside, but inside he was as much of a gentlepony as your dad was." she explained to him.

"Mom?" asked Storm.

"Yeah?" she answered.

"What was it like moving for you?" asked Storm.

"It was a bit hard... my friends all thought that I was betraying them, and so did members of my family." Equinox explained. "In fact, the only pony who seemed supportive of my move to the Gryphon Empire was my mom or your grandma, who told me to follow my heart. My friends and family all came to their senses eventually, and I'm sure Rainwynd will come to her senses as well."

"But, it wasn't Rainwynd's fault exactly..." Storm explained. "It was sorta my fault..."

"Yes?" asked Equinox. "What exactly happened between you two?"

"Well, we were coming back home from school and were talking about who should win the next Aerovian League ice hockey game..." begun Storm. "And then I tried to explain to her that I'm going to be moving to Equestria and then she said that I didn't care about her and Sharp and that I'm starting to hang out with Lightning Wing..."

"I see." she replied.

"I don't get it, mom." he begun. "Did I say something wrong to her or something?"

"No, son." his mother replied. "She probably misunderstood you, son."

"Maybe." Storm replied.

"You two like each other, don't you?" asked Equinox, a smile forming on her face. A small, barely noticeable blush formed on Storm's face, but he quickly hid it.

"Mom, we're just friends..." Storm replied. "That is... we were."

"Just talk to her, Storm." Equinox said. "Try explaining it to her again when you meet her at school tomorrow. Maybe she'll come to her senses... who knows?"

"What if she doesn't?" asked Storm.

"True friends always listen and understand, sweetie." Equinox explained.

Meanwhile, Rainwynd was having the exact same conversation with her parents.

"Mom?" asked Rainwynd.

"Yeah, sweetie?" her mother, a medium-sized Pegasus mare by the name of Gale, responded.

"I-I lost a friend today..." Rain explained, rather awkwardly.

"Is it that Stormfire kid?" asked her father, a rather tall and muscular Pegasus stallion by the name of Skyclean.

"The very same one." Rain replied.

"What happened between you two?" Gale asked.

"Well, him and his mom are moving to Equestria... and I guess I overreacted a bit and thought he was lying." Rainwynd explained. "And then I shouted at him and stuff... and now, I want him to be my friend again."

"Did you learn your lesson, Rain?" asked her father.

"Yes daddy..." she replied. "I'm sorry for overreacting."

"It's not me you should be apologizing to." explained her father. "You should apologize to Storm."

"What if he doesn't want to forgive me?" she asked.

"He definitely would..." replied her mother. "Just don't doubt yourself, sweetie and everything will be alright."

The next day, Storm walked down the road towards the warehouse which served as the school building until the one in Gryffsvale would be rebuilt. Although he seemed happy on the outside and eager to start a new day at school, inside he felt nervous, not just because he was going to school, but because of Rainwynd. He cringed as he thought of what happened between the two last night and hoped that he could get things sorted out between them soon.

Not watching where he was going, he bumped into Lightning Wing, who was arguing with Sharpbeak.

"I'm telling you, Sharpbeak-Oh, hey Storm. Lightning Wing said.

"Hey, Storm." said Sharpbeak.

"Hey guys." replied Storm. "What are you arguing about?"

"Who should win the next hockey game." he explained. "Who do you think?"

"Aerozon." replied Storm. "No question."

"Well, I think Gryfino should win." Sharpbeak explained. "Aerozon simply try too hard, and Gryfino isn't that bad of a team when you think about it. They're actually pretty good."

"Gryfino is the worst ice hockey team in the entire league!" shouted Lightning Wing. "I mean, why would you like a team that's lost five games in a row?"

"You mean four games, right?" answered Sharpbeak. "That game a month ago between Gryffsvale and Gryfino... that was a tie!"

"Whatever. They still suck." replied Lightning Wing.

"Guys, cam we please stop arguing?" asked Storm, slowly growing more and more nervous.

"Alright... I do admit, they aren't as good as they used to be in the past." replied Sharpbeak. "But they're still not that bad..."

"Dude, just stop talking about ice hockey for once!" shouted Storm, getting the attention of passers-by on the street. Even Sharpbeak and Lightning Wing raised their eyebrows at their friend's little outburst. "Look, sorry guys. I'm just a bit peeved."

"What happened?" asked Sharpbeak.

"Anything bad?" asked Lightning Wing.

"Well, you could say that..." replied Storm. "It's about Rainwynd."

Just then, Lightning Wing hid behind Sharpbeak...

"Don't you mention her name again!" he shouted. "She hates me..."

"She does?" asked Storm.

"Yep." he replied. "Whenever Sharp talks about me, she acts all strange and whenever she sees me she gives me a creepy glare..."

"It's like she hates him..." Sharpbeak replied, before turning to glare at Lightning Wing. "Though I can't say that I disagree with her."

"Dude, that was over a month ago! Chillax bro." said Lightning Wing.

"Damn it, you guys." cursed Storm. "I thought I was talking about Rain."

"You were but Lightning Ding here distracted you." Sharpbeak replied, giving Lightning Wing another glare.

"Ugh..." replied Lightning Wing, a glare forming on his face.

"Storm was talking about Rain, you doofus." Sharpbeak replied.

"GUYS!" Storm shouted.

"Yeah?" they both asked, turning their attention to Storm.

"Rainwynd isn't my friend anymore..." he replied. "We had a huge argument after school yesterday."

"What exactly happened?" asked Sharpbeak.

"I explained to her something..." Storm begun.

"What did you explain?" asked Lightning Wing.

"That I'm moving to Equestria in a little while..." Storm replied, somewhat reluctantly.

After hearing that, Sharpbeak and Lightning Wing's jaws both dropped.

"You're moving, just like that?" asked Lightning Wing.

_Oh, no... here we go again._ thought Storm to himself.

"Yes." he replied. "I'm sorry, but we can't stay here."

"We'll miss you, buddy..." explained Sharp, putting his wing on Storm's shoulder.

"Yeah... It's a shame you guys have to move." Lightning Wing said. "And maybe Rain just doesn't understand."

"It's sorta my fault as well." Storm confessed. "I insulted her a bit..."

"The logical thing would be to apologize." explained Sharpbeak.

"I guess so..." said Storm. "But what if she doesn't want to be my friend?"

"She's been your friend for the past five years, Storm. Why won't she want to be your friend?" asked Sharpbeak.

"Mainly because I insulted her..." replied Storm.

"Wow..." both of them replied.

"Yeah... wow." Storm said sarcastically.

"Just apologize to her, dude." explained Lightning Wing.

"You sure it'll work?" asked Storm.

"Positive." replied Sharpbeak.

Suddenly, the school bell rang, which meant that the three friends had to literally trot like the wind in order to make it to the school on time. The school day didn't go as smoothly for Storm as he expected it to go, mainly because he kept getting distracted by thoughts of Rainwynd during lessons. He then realized that it wasn't entirely Rainwynd's fault that they aren't friends anymore. It was more of his fault. He remembered the insults he hurled at her, how he called her a "whiny brat", or even better, a "crook". Storm sighed as he thought of her. Their friendship was seemingly damaged beyond repair.

"So, can anybody tell me when the Gryphon Empire was founded?" Storm's teacher asked and looked around the class for someone to answer. Eventually, she set her eyes on Storm, who was playing with a pencil. "Stormfire?"

At the mention of his name, Storm dropped the pencil onto the table and turned towards the teacher. Everyone, including Sharpbeak and Lightning Wing were looking at Storm and waiting for him to answer the teacher's question.

"Yes ma'am?" he asked.

"I asked you when the Gryphon Empire was founded." the teacher replied. Storm looked around and saw that several of his classmates were laughing at him, which made him feel very uncomfortable.

"Uh..." Storm begun hesitantly, trying to remember when the Gryphon Empire was founded. The class was currently learning about the history of the Gryphon Empire, from it's founding around a thousand years ago to it's breakup just after the Gryphon War, and while Storm enjoyed learning about history, it wasn't his strongest subject at school, especially since instead of concentrating on his lessons, he was busy thinking about Rain... "I don't know, ma'am."

Some more classmates begun to snicker at Storm, which made him want to trot out of the classroom as fast as he could, but he knew that if he did try to get out of the classroom before the bell for recess rang, then he'd most likely get into huge trouble with the teacher. Storm simply sighed and tried his hardest to ignore the constant snickering and name calling coming from his classmates.

"Were you listening, Storm?" asked the teacher.

"No ma'am." Storm replied. "I was too busy messing around."

"Alright, next time, I'm putting you in detention, alright?" asked the teacher.

"Yes ma'am." replied Storm, rather sadly.

"Good. Can anyone else tell me when the Gryphon Empire was founded?" the teacher asked, again looking around the class to find someone to answer. This time, she set her eyes on Rainwynd, who was sitting beside Sharpbeak and some other Gryphons.

"It was founded in the Gryphon year 740, by the four tribes of the Gryphon lands." replied Rainwynd. Storm smiled after hearing her answer, but his grin turned into a frown shortly after.

"Excellent, Rainwynd." the teacher replied and opened a small chest lying just beside her desk. A moment or two later, she took out a sticker with a star printed on it and the words "WELL DONE!" written in Gryphon surrounding it. She gave the sticker to Rainwynd, who peeled it off and stuck it on one of her schoolbooks.

Storm turned to look at her and sighed. He wanted to apologize to her so badly, but he couldn't. He was too scared to even come near her after their little argument yesterday. He sighed sadly and turned to look at his history book, before turning to look at Rainwynd again. He needed to sort things out between them, before he left for Equestria.

After lunch, while most other kids were playing tag or hide n' seek, Storm was sitting on one of the vacant benches dotted around the playground. He was busy thinking about how he could apologize and be her friend again. However, as much as he wanted to apologize to her, he was scared. What if she didn't accept his apology? What if she found herself another friend?

Just then, Sharpbeak and Lightning Wing came over to Storm and sat down beside him, Lightning Wing holding a ...hoofball in his talons.

"Hey Storm." Sharpbeak said, putting his wing on Storm's shoulder.

"What's the matter?" asked Lightning Wing, trying his hardest not to pierce the hoofball with his talons.

"Not much..." answered Storm. "I'm wanting to apologize to Rain without screwing up."

"You still haven't?" asked Sharpbeak.

"I was trying to do it at recess, but I was too nervous." Storm explained. "My dad would probably think I'm a coward."

"Is he STILL not back from his business trip?" asked Lightning Wing, still trying to keep the hoofball in place.

"Uhh... he's not on a business trip, dude." explained Sharpbeak.

"Then where is he?" asked Lightning Wing.

"Dead." replied Storm, a frown forming on his face. "He's been dead for the past ten-eleven years."

"He has?" Lightning Wing asked. "I'm sorry for your loss, dude."

"It's okay, I guess..." Storm explained. "Stuff like that happens..."

"What happened to him if you do mind me asking?" asked Sharp.

"He was killed in battle..." replied Storm, a tear dropping from his left eye. "And if he were here today, he'd say I'm a good-for-nothing coward..."

Just then, Lightning Wing and Sharpbeak pulled Stormfire into a short, but tight hug, something that he'd only expect his mom to do.

"You're not a coward, Storm." explained Lightning Wing.

"Exactly." replied Sharpbeak. "You're the bravest pony I've ever met."

"But..." Storm begun. "I can't apologize to Rain..."

"Storm, yes you can." replied Sharpbeak. "We'll come with you."

"No..." replied Storm, feeling slightly awkward.

"What would your dad say?" asked Lightning Wing, leaving the hug along with Sharpbeak.

Just then, Storm's frown slowly turned into a grin as he tried to think of things his dad would tell him to do. His dad was a military pony and he was taught to always laugh fear in the face, and if Storm was going to apologize to Rain, then he'd have to do just that.

"My dad..." Storm begun. "Would tell me to look fear in the face... and laugh at it. And if I'm going to apologize to Rainy, then I'd have to do just that."

"I think that's a good idea..." replied Sharpbeak. "Face your fears, Storm and go and apologize to her."

Storm nodded and walked across the playground, looking for Rainwynd. Eventually, he noticed her, perched on a tree branch. She was busy reading a magazine.

"Uh, Rain?" he begun, rather awkwardly.

Just then, she turned to look at him, with a look of regret on her face. She then flew off the branch she was perched on and landed in front of Storm, obviously sad and afraid.

"Hey, it's okay..." replied Storm, trying his best to comfort her. "I'm sorry, Rainy, for everything, especially for insulting you. I said the wrong things. Will you forgive me?"

Her sad frown slowly faded away from her face and was replaced by a grin.

"Yes, Stormy." she replied and ruffled his mane playfully. "And I'm sorry for saying that you'd rather hang out with Lightning Wing than me or Sharp. It's just that you were such a great friend over the past few years... I just wanted you to stay and be my BFF."

"BFF?" Storm asked, not knowing what it stands for.

"Best friend forever, silly." replied Rain, chuckling a bit.

"Oh, right..." Storm replied, also chuckling a bit. Just then, Sharpbeak and Lightning Wing (who was pretty reluctant about meeting Rainwynd.) walked up to them. "Apology accepted, Rain."

Rainwynd then noticed Sharpbeak and a very shy Lightning Wing approaching them.

"Hey Sharp..." she said, waving at him, before turning to look at Lightning Wing, who jumped behind Sharpbeak in fear. Rainwynd sighed and went to talk to Lightning Wing, who backed away towards a tree.

"Lightning Wing..." she begun. "Is it still about what happened a month ago?"

"Are you still mad at me for that?" he asked, frantically. "Look, I'm sorry, okay? I'm really, really sorry!"

"Apology accepted." she replied and smiled at him. Lightning Wing sighed in relief and a smile of his own formed on his face.

"So, after school... do you guys want to go to the park to practice some flying?" asked Lightning Wing.

"Uh, I can't fly..." replied Storm.

"You what?!" asked Lightning Wing, his lower beak dropping to the ground in shock.

"You heard him, Lightning." explained Sharpbeak. "Storm's not the best at flying..."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean he's a horrible pony." said Rainwynd. "In fact, he's one of the best ponies I know." she explained, putting her hoof on his shoulder.

"Did I say he's a horrible pony?" asked Lightning Wing, visibly confused.

"Uh, no. I'm just saying." explained Rainwynd. "He doesn't need to know how to fly in order to be a true Pegasus. It's his heart that makes him a true Pegasus. And Storm has a heart of gold." She replied, leaning slightly against him.

"Thanks Rain." Storm replied, turning to smile at her. "But I'm gonna need to learn how to fly soon enough, especially since I'm moving to a place where I'm gonna need to fly very well."

"Where exactly are you moving?" asked Sharpbeak.

"Cloudsdale." replied Storm. "I'm moving to Cloudsdale."

"What's Cloudsdale?" asked Lightning Wing.

"It's this huge cloud city in Equestria." replied Storm.

"Oh, Cloudsdale!" begun Rainwynd. "I've heard of that place. Supposedly only Pegasi live there."

"Really?" asked Storm. "_Only_ Pegasi?"

"Yep. It's a city in the clouds, silly." she replied and giggled.

"Oh yeah." replied Storm, also smiling.

"So, what do you guys want to do after school?" asked Sharpbeak.

"Go to the park?" said Lightning Wing.

"Sure!" replied Rainwynd.

"Maybe." replied Storm. "I'm gonna need to check with my mom first."

That afternoon, Storm came home with a small, but still visible grin on his face. He had finally sorted things out between him and Rainwynd and felt pretty good about himself. However, he then realized that he wasn't going to stay Rainwynd's friend for long as he was moving back to Equestria soon.

Storm sighed and his grin faded away from his face. As much as he wanted to move back to Equestria and see Cloudsdale before his own eyes, he didn't want to leave Rainwynd and the rest of his friends behind. It hurt him deep inside to have to leave them, but he also knew he had no choice.

He stepped into the holiday home and dumped his backpack beside the front door.

"Mom! I'm home!" said Storm.

"Hey sweetie!" she shouted from the kitchen. "Care to join us for lunch?"

"Sure!" he replied and trotted into the kitchen, where his mom was sitting at the table, in front of Ava and Vortex. They were eating one of Storm's favorite fast foods, hay fries and Equinox got up and passed him a plate full of them.

"So, how was school today son?" asked Equinox.

Storm's smile returned to his face, as he remembered what happened between him and Rain.

"It was great!" replied Storm, stuffing his mouth with hay fries.

"Oh really?" asked Vortex.

"You've got to tell us all about it." said Ava.

So, Storm told everyone gathered around the table about what happened between him and Rainwynd.

"So, did you enjoy your hay fries?" asked Ava.

"Yep." replied Storm. "Thanks, ma'am."

"You're such a well mannered colt." Ava replied, smiling at him. "But I would prefer you calling me Ava."

"Are you sure you're okay with that?" asked Storm, knowing that in Gryphon society, it can be highly disrespectful calling adults by their names.

"Yeah. Go ahead." she replied.

"Okay, Ava." said Storm. "Thanks for the fries."

"No problem." she replied, grinning.

"Storm, do you have any homework, sweetie?" asked Equinox.

"Yep. I'll go do it now." he replied, trotting to get his backpack.

"They grow up so fast, don't they?" said Vortex, still eating his hay fries. "I remember when he was a tiny foal, and now he's got himself a marefriend."

"Hey, I heard that!" shouted Storm, from his bedroom upstairs. "Rainwynd isn't my marefriend!"

"I'm just worried..." replied Equinox, her warm, friendly grin being replaced by an emotionless stare. "Worried that he won't fit in Cloudsdale... I mean, Storm can't fly yet!" she shouted, as quietly as she could so that Storm won't be able to hear.

"Hey, relax." said Vortex, trying his best to calm her down.

"I'm sure that High Wind will teach him how to fly." explained Ava.

"I highly doubt that, Ava..." she replied. "I highly doubt that..."

That Saturday...

It was the night of the big move to Equestria and while Equinox and Vortex were packing his belongings into a suitcase, Storm lay on the sofa downstairs. He was scared, not only of moving to a place that he had only heard of from his mom, but also of losing the first friends he's ever made. A tear rolled out of his eye as he thought of Sharpbeak, Lightning Wing and Rainwynd and all the times they've spent together. He didn't want to leave them behind in Aerovis, but he knew that he'd find new friends in Cloudsdale.

"Storm, sweetie?" asked his mom from upstairs, snapping him out of his thoughts. "Can you take your suitcase to the carriage?"

"Sure thing, mom." he replied, getting off the couch and trotting upstairs.

Storm looked into his bedroom and his jaw dropped at the sight. Everything that belonged to him was either packed in boxes which were stacked up to the ceiling or in his suitcase. The room almost seemed alien to Storm, who usually left it in a huge mess.

"Woah..." he said, looking at the now-clean room.

"It looks different, doesn't it?" said a voice. Storm gasped and looked to see where the voice came from. It was Vortex, who was standing behind him.

"Vortex, did you tidy this up?" he asked.

"Yep." Vortex replied, holding a vacuum cleaner in one of his talons. "It took a lot of effort to tidy this room up, but it looks much better now, don't you think?"

"Yeah." replied Storm, looking pretty unsure.

"What's wrong, little guy?" asked Vortex. "Aren't you excited about moving to Equestria?"

"Yeah... sort of." he replied, rather awkwardly. "I'm just scared."

"Scared of what?" asked Vortex.

"Moving to Equestria." Storm explained. "I'm just worried I won't fit in or make any friends..."

"You will fit in, Stormfire." Vortex comforted him. "What kid won't want to be your friend?"

"I'm just scared..." he explained, almost shedding a tear.

"Don't be..." Vortex replied. "There'll always be somepony to be by your side, Storm."

"You sure?" he asked.

"Positive." Vortex said, winking at him. "Now, go help your mom with packing."

"Oh, right." Storm replied, remembering what he was sent up here to do in the first place. He slowly pulled the wheeled suitcase down the stairs, and out of the front door, where a large, yellow, pony-drawn carriage was waiting. From what Storm saw, the stallions pulling the carriage seemed very impatient. He placed the suitcase beside the carriage door and trotted back home.

"Mom?" shouted Storm.

"Just a moment, sweetie!" she shouted from upstairs. "I should be ready in about fifteen minutes."

"Alright!" replied Storm. "Should I get anything else?"

"You can help Vortex take the rest of the boxes from your room." she said.

"Alright, mom." Storm replied and went upstairs to his room, where Vortex was carrying several boxes in his talons, being extremely careful to not rip the cardboard with them.

"Hey, Vortex." Storm begun. "Is there anything left in the room for me to take?"

"Yeah, your ice hockey magazines." Vortex replied, holding onto the stack of boxes as tightly as he could. "They're lying on the bed."

"Alright then." replied Storm, trotting into his room and picking up the ice hockey magazines lying on the bed sheets, before trotting down the stairs and outside. He unzipped the suitcase, which was lying beside the carriage, while Ava was putting a box into the back of it and stuffed his magazines into the suitcase, before zipping it back up. _I hope that's everything..._ thought Storm to himself.

Just then, he looked down the pathway to see Rainwynd, Lightning Wing and Sharpbeak walking down it.

"Hey guys!" Storm shouted, waving at them.

"Stormy!" shouted Rainwynd, trotting down the path towards Storm and jumping playfully around him.

"Hey Storm." said Sharpbeak.

"Hi." said Lightning Wing. "So, you're leaving in a little while?"

"Yeah..." replied Storm, his grin turning into a glum face. "I don't want to leave you guys behind, but I have to."

"We understand..." replied Rainwynd, putting her hoof on his shoulder, which comforted him noticeably.

"You do?" asked Storm, his ears perking up.

"Yep." replied Sharpbeak. "As much as we don't want you to leave, we know you have to, buddy..."

"Yeah..." said Lightning Wing. "How long do you have left before you go?"

"I'm thinking around fifteen-twenty minutes." Storm replied, turning around and checking to see if his mom was coming out of the house. "I'm gonna have to ask mom just to be sure."

"Alright." said the three friends in unison. Storm trotted into the house and up the stairs, before knocking on his mom's room. A moment later, the door opened, revealing his mom, who had her mane tied into a bun.

"Hey mom." he said.

"Hey son." she said, smiling down at him. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, about that." replied Storm. "Can I play with Rainwynd and the others before we leave?"

"I don't know, sweetie..." she said, before turning to look at a digital clock lying on the dresser. It was 7:30 PM and their carriage was scheduled to leave at eight, which meant that they still had half an hour to get ready.

"All right..." she said. "You can play with them for fifteen-twenty minutes. Our carriage has to leave for the airport in half an hour, alright?"

"Okay." replied Storm. "Thanks mom!"

"You're welcome, son." she replied, smiling brightly at him. "Remember, be back before eight. Okay?"

"Okay!" replied Storm, trotting downstairs and outside, where Rainwynd and the rest of his friends were waiting.

"So, what did your mom say?" asked Rain.

"She said that we can play for twenty minutes maximum. Then, we have to go." he explained, with a sad tone in his voice. "As much as I don't want to go, I have to..."

"It's okay, Storm..." replied Sharpbeak. "We'll try and write to you."

"We won't forget about you, Storm." explained Lightning Wing.

"Yeah..." said Rainwynd. "It's a shame you have to leave, but we know you have to."

"Guys..." replied Storm, almost shedding a tear knowing that he had to leave them. "Thank you for being my friends..." he explained, pulling all three of them into a short hug.

"No problem bro." replied Sharpbeak.

"Yeah, you're an awesome pony." said Lightning Wing. "Hanging out with you was great."

"And thank you Storm, for being the best friend we could ever ask for." explained Rainwynd, grinning widely.

"No problem, Rainy." Storm replied and smiled at her, before returning to his original expression. "Anyways, enough of this mush. Let's go to the park, we're wasting enough time."

"Alright." they replied in unison.

"What are we going to do at the park?" asked Sharpbeak.

"Hang around the playground?" asked Storm.

The three friends nodded in reply and followed Storm to the park, which lay two blocks away. A few minutes later, they reached the park (which was almost completely deserted) and begun to play their usual game of hide n' seek. This time, Storm was seeking, and while the rest of them went to hide, Storm counted to ten. After his little countdown, he went to look for his friends, but little did he know that he was being watched...

"He's coming, you guys." whispered Rainwynd, from the top of the jungle gym. While Storm was looking around the entire playground for them, they got off the jungle gym and slid down the slide, before walking quietly by Storm and jumping into some nearby bushes. They chuckled in between themselves as they watched their friend look for them.

"Come on, guys..." said Storm, close to giving up. "Where are you, for Pete's sake?"

"We should tell him..." said Lightning Wing, trying to get out of the bushes, before being pulled back by Sharpbeak.

"What do you think you're doing?" asked Sharpbeak. "You want to give away our location?"

"No..." replied Lightning Wing.

"Exactly..." said Rainwynd. "Just keep quiet, both of you."

"Yes ma'am." they both replied, and saluted her like Gryphon soldiers.

"Who knows? Maybe he's listening into our conversation right now..." she whispered to them, before peeking out of the bushes to see where Storm was. What she didn't know was that Storm was looking down at them from the top of a tall tree...

_Gotcha now..._ he thought to himself, as he looked down at the bush where his friends were hiding in. It was time to catch them all...

He slid down the tree and trotted up to the bush, before pulling it away to reveal Sharpbeak, Lightning Wing and Rainwynd curled up. He smirked to himself, knowing that one of them would be caught by him.

"HAH!" he shouted, grinning.

The two Gryphons and the filly groaned, knowing that they've been caught, and stepped out of the bushes.

"Darn it, Storm..." shouted Lightning Wing. "How did you find us?"

"I just did..." he replied smugly. "And it's now Lightning Wing's turn to seek; wait..."

"What is it?" asked Sharpbeak.

"Ugh... I don't have much time left, guys..." explained Storm, remembering that he was to be back home at eight. He looked around and noticed a large, digital clock hanging beside the gate to the park. The clock read 7:45 PM, which meant that they had fifteen minutes left before Storm had to leave for Equestria. Fifteen minutes to enjoy their friendship... How Storm didn't want to leave for Equestria, but he knew that it wasn't his choice, nor was it his mom's choice. They just couldn't stay in Aerovis anymore. It was time for them to go back to where they came from.

"So, what can we do?" asked Lightning Wing.

"I have a great idea!" replied Rainwynd, with a huge grin on her face.

"What is it Rainy?" asked Storm, looking rather curious.

"You know how you're moving to Cloudsdale?" asked Rainwynd.

"Yeah?" asked Storm.

"Well, we'll show you how to fly!" replied Rainwynd, grinning widely.

Storm's heart stopped and his jaw dropped to the ground in shock. As much as he wanted to learn how to fly, he couldn't. No matter who taught him, no matter how many lessons he had before, he could never master the art of flying. He even had thoughts of giving up his dream of flying, but he knew that he couldn't give up on that dream, especially since he was moving to a place in which everybody flew. He had to learn how to fly soon... he just had to.

"Look Rainwynd, I know you want to help me, but still... I can't fly, and it's unlikely I ever will!" he shouted.

"No it's not." she replied, putting her hoof on his shoulder, which calmed him down noticeably. "Stop doubting yourself, Storm."

"Yeah, stop doubting yourself." said Sharpbeak. "It's not gonna get you anywhere."

"Yeah. What he said." said Lightning Wing. Storm sighed. _What harm could some flight practice do? It's not like they can properly teach me how to fly or anything..._

"Alright. You guys win." Storm explained. "It's time for some flight practice."

"Yay!" Sharpbeak, Lightning Wing and Rainwynd cheered and trotted towards a nearby field, which faced the setting sun. Storm trotted after them, and a few moments later, arrived. The field sloped downwards and extended towards some nearby trees, behind which was the railway station.

"Stand here, Stormy." said Rainwynd, standing beside a tree. Storm went up to the tree and stood there, facing the setting sun with a stance similar to that of an army pony. "Now, do what I'm doing." she explained, unfolding her wings and trotting down the field flapping them as fast as she could. She begun to pull off the ground shortly after and flew back to where Storm was standing. He could only watch in astonishment as she flew towards him, with grace and gentleness. A moment or two later, she landed in front of Storm, whose jaw was hanging open.

"You should see the look on your face, Stormy." she said, chuckling a bit. "Now, it's your turn."

Storm gulped and walked up to where she was standing, and unfolded his wings.

"Do you think I'll do good?" asked Storm, looking at the field nervously.

"Absolutely." she replied. "Now go!"

"Go Storm, go!" shouted Sharpbeak and Lightning Wing. Storm did as he was told and trotted down the field towards the trees, flapping his wings as fast as he could. To his surprise, he begun to pull off the ground slightly, but he fell back down again.

"Ugh..." he said, dusting himself off. "Oh, my gosh... RAIN, I FLEW!"

Just then, Rainwynd and Sharpbeak and Lightning Wing trotted down the field to meet Storm.

"See?" she asked. "I knew you could do it, buddy. Now, try again..."

"You got it!" replied Storm, trotting down the field again and flapping his wings harder. He pulled off the ground and stayed in the air for around ten seconds, managing to get a clear view of most of the park, before dropping back down to the ground. His friends ran up to him and patted him on the back, including Rainwynd, who seemed to be the most proud of them all.

"Well done, Storm!" she said, ruffling his mane. "You actually flew properly."

"We knew you could do it buddy." said Sharpbeak, putting his wing on Storm's back.

"I couldn't have done it without you guys." replied Storm. "Thank you."

"No problem, dude." said Lightning Wing.

"Hey, what's the time?" asked Storm.

"I'll check." replied Sharpbeak, flying off towards the digital clock beside the gate to the park. A few moments later, he landed back at the field where Storm and the others were. "It's 7:56. We better hurry..."

"Yeah. Let's go." replied Storm. "Come on, you guys."

Storm and the rest of his friends trotted out of the park and headed for the holiday home. They made it back home just in time for Storm to leave for Equestria. Everything was packed into the carriage and his mom was sitting in it, waiting for Storm to say goodbye one last time to his friends.

"Bye guys." waved Ava. "Send us a postcard from Equestria!"

"We'll miss you." said Vortex. "Bye guys."

"We will, don't worry!" replied Equinox from inside the carriage. "We'll miss you all too!"

"Say hello to Buttermilk for us!" said Ava.

"Will do!" replied Equinox. "Coming Storm?"

"Just a second!" he replied, before turning to face Rainwynd and his other friends. "Well... this is it, you guys." Storm said, shrugging sadly. "It's time to go to Equestria..."

"It's a shame you can't stay, Storm..." explained Rainwynd. "You were such a great friend."

"Yeah..." said Sharpbeak. "We're gonna miss you, buddy."

"What he said." chimed in Lightning Wing.

"But hey, we can always write to one another, right?" asked Storm.

"Yeah, I guess so..." replied Rainwynd. "But it won't be the same."

"I guess so..." said Storm. "But you know what my mom said?"

"What?" asked Sharpbeak.

"If you keep your friends in your heart, they're never truly away..." he replied, almost shedding a tear. "You were the best friends I could ever hope for."

"And you were the best friend WE could ever hope for." said Lightning Wing, hugging him, along with Sharpbeak.

"Thank you, Storm." said Rainwynd, joining in the hug. "For everything."

"My pleasure." replied Storm, giving them all a friendly, yet sad smile. "So long, guys." he said, opening the door to the carriage and sitting down beside his mom. The carriage then pulled away into the distance, leaving Sharpbeak, Lightning Wing and Rainwynd alone.

"Well..." begun Sharpbeak. "So, what do we do now?"

"I don't know..." replied Rainwynd, looking quite miserable. "It's a shame he had to leave..."

"Yeah." said Lightning Wing, also looking quite depressed. "He made me a better Gryphon."

"He was the first friend I ever made." replied Rainwynd.

"But he said he'll write to us..." chimed in Sharpbeak. "At least we'll still be able to keep in touch with Storm, right?"

"Yeah..." replied Lightning Wing. "But like Rainy here said, it's not the same."

"What other option do we have in keeping touch with Storm, huh?" asked Sharp. "Tell me, Lightning."

"There isn't any other option." replied Lightning Wing, a tear rolling out of his eye. "Let's just go home, you guys..."

"Yeah..." said Sharpbeak. "You coming, Rain?" he asked, looking to see Rainwynd stare into the distance. He had never seen her so depressed before, and so he decided to talk to her. "You alright?"

"Does it look like I'm alright, Sharp?" she asked, tears streaming down her face. "I just lost the first friend I ever made..."

"I know how you feel..." he replied, putting his wing on her back. "And Storm was lucky to have a friend like you."

"Thank you..." she replied, giving him a pleasant, yet obviously depressed smile. "I'm just going to miss him."

"Yeah." he replied, trying his best to comfort her. "But look on the bright side. You still have me and Lightning Wing."

"Yeah." Lightning Wing said. "Don't forget about us."

"I won't..." she replied. "But we can't forget about Storm."

"I guess so." Sharpbeak said. "Come on, let's all go home."

Meanwhile...

The carriage was already on the road between Gryfino and Featherburg, the city where Storm and Equinox had stayed. As the carriage got ever nearer to Gryfino Airport, Equinox couldn't help but notice that Storm was looking depressed.

"Son, are you okay?" she asked, putting down a book she was reading on the seat.

"Yeah, I'm fine..." he replied, with an emotionless tone in his voice.

"Is it about Sharpbeak and Rainwynd?" Equinox asked.

"Yeah..." Storm replied. "I don't want to leave them behind... they mean far too much to me. They were my best friends mom..."

"I understand, son." Equinox said. "I know how you feel... but like I said, if you keep them in your heart, they're never truly away."

"I guess so, mom..." he replied, shedding a few tears. "They've been the best friends I could ever ask for..."

"Hey, it'll be alright." Equinox said, wrapping her wing around him. "It'll all be alright, Stormy. Hush now." He moved closer to where Equinox was sitting and snuggled against her.

Around an hour later, the carriage reached the airport. After checking in their baggage and undergoing extensive security scans by machines Storm has never seen before, they were finally allowed to board the airship, which was still tied to the ground and being filled up with helium gas. Storm sat down beside the window (as he wanted to see what a take-off looked like) and Equinox sat down beside him, reading the same book she was reading on the carriage.

"So, what's Cloudsdale like, mom?" Storm asked.

"You'll just have to wait and see, son." she replied. "And trust me, you'll love it."

"Do you think I'll fit in at school and make any friends?" he asked. "I mean, I made several friends here... but I don't know if anypony would want to be my friend."

"Yep." Equinox replied. "Who wouldn't want to be your friend?"

"I don't know..." said Storm, seeming pretty unsure.

Just then, a loud "ping" sounded through the cockpit of the airship, getting the attention of everyone on board.

_Fillies and gentlecolts, welcome aboard EQAir Flight 242 to Cloudsdale._ said a rather smooth voice through the loudspeakers. _This flight will take approximately 12 hours and 45 minutes..._

_12 hours?_ Storm groaned, thinking to himself what he could do for 12 hours straight.

_...we hope you have a nice flight and join us on another EQAir flight._

Just then, the lights in the cockpit switched off and the airship was slowly, but surely pulled towards one of the main runways of the airport.

"What's happening mommy?" asked Storm, unsure of what's going on.

"We're being pulled to one of the main runways of the airport so we can take off properly." she explained, putting down her book on the tray-table.

"Who's pulling us? Or what?" he asked frantically.

"Some airport stallions, son." Equinox simply replied.

A few minutes later, they reached the main runway of the airport. Storm looked out of the window he was sitting at, noticing a large tower (which he presumed had something to do with the flights at the airport) sticking out of the main terminal building. Behind that tower were the tall buildings of downtown Gryfino, illuminating the night sky with their lights. Storm's jaw dropped looking at the shining lights of the big city. He had never seen anything like it before (while Gryffsvale was a major city in Aerovis, it was nowhere near as magnificent as Gryfino was) and thought to himself what it would be like to live in one of those buildings. His thoughts were interrupted by the airship being pulled again, this time moving faster and faster every second.

A moment or so later, the airship's speed was high enough for the stallions to let go of it and let it fly into the air. Storm looked out of the window and his jaw dropped, seeing the expansive lights of Gryfino stretch miles into the surrounding countryside. The city lights looked like sparkling jewels in the night, far more beautiful than anything Storm had ever seen before.

"Beautiful, isn't it son?" asked Equinox.

"Yep." he replied, still staring down at the lights, which slowly faded away into the distance. "I've never seen anything like it."

"Why don't you get some sleep, son?" asked Equinox. "This is going to be a long flight..."

"I can imagine." he replied. "Good night, mom."

"Night night, son." she said, kissing him goodnight and putting away her book.

_Well, that night we left Aerovis for a new life in Equestria. While I was excited about moving, I was also pretty sad about doing so. I didn't want to leave my best friends in Aerovis, and even though I knew that I'll find new friends in Equestria, I still felt that they were the most realest friends I could ever make. I mean, one of them even tried to teach me how to properly fly. I'll definitely miss her the most..._

_What awaited me in Equestria, I didn't know, but I was soon going to find out. But was I going to like it? Nope. Not a chance._


	5. Welcome to Equestria

Twelve hours and forty-five minutes later, the airship landed at the Cloudsdale International Skyport, and was pulled across the taxiways to the arrivals concourse by around ten Pegasus stallions working at the airport. While Equinox was busy preparing herself and Storm for entering Equestria, Storm was fast asleep, somehow not woken by the captain's announcements. It was a rather warm and sunny day in Cloudsdale, which made the inside of the airship quite stuffy, even with air conditioning on.

The airship stopped beside the arrivals building and a loud "ping" sound echoed through the cockpit of the aircraft, causing Storm to shoot out of his sleeping position in shock. He looked around to see ponies and Gryphons getting out of their seats and packing their bags, and his mom sitting beside him.

"We're here, son." she replied, holding some important paperwork, which would allow them to enter the country, in her hooves. Storm immediately turned to look out of the window, and saw a large building made of cloud and water ice, which he presumed was the arrivals building. There were several other airships, from both Equestria and other countries lined up neatly beside the building, and there was also a huge tower, slightly similar to the one in Gryfino, in the distance. Storm looked at the cloud buildings in awe. He had never thought that he'd see architecture like that in his own lifetime. The cloud architecture reminded him of the fancy, futuristic towers and domes that he often saw in old and cheesy science fiction movies, but even they didn't look as cool as the airport control tower at Cloudsdale airport.

"Storm, sweetie. It's time to go." said Equinox, snapping him out of his thoughts. He stood up and looked to see ponies and Gryphons alike getting off the airship.

"Alright mom." he replied and followed his mom down the aisle, before saying goodbye to the flight attendant mare and walking out of the airship. Storm looked around and smelt the fresh Cloudsdale air, which was nothing like the air back in Aerovis, before following his mom through a revolving door, which led to a baggage collection room and two passport booths, one for domestic arrivals and one for international arrivals.

"Mom?" asked Storm, walking down the hallway which led to the passport booths. Both were marked "domestic" and "international" and had ponies, Gryphons and other species that Storm had never seen before, including eagles and dragons, lined up at each one. "What are the papers for, if you don't mind me asking?"

"They'll allow us entry into Equestria, son." replied Equinox. "Without these documents, we won't be allowed in."

"Alright..." he replied, growing slightly nervous as they approached a gray Pegasus stallion, sitting at the "international" arrivals booth, wearing aviator shades and a dark blue peaked hat, currently tending to a Gryphon couple and their children, who were on vacation in Cloudsdale. There were also two Pegasus stallions, standing beside the booth and wearing golden armor, marked "BORDER PATROL" on the front and back plates, who Storm presumed were Equestrian airport guards. One of the stallions held a spear in his left hoof, while the other one had a crossbow sticking out from underneath his armor. Storm gulped. He had never seen airport security like that, not even at Gryfino Airport, where the security was said to be the tighter than any other airport in Aerovis. The Guard with the crossbow turned to look at Storm, who was staring at him nervously, and gave him a friendly smile, as if to say "Relax kid. We aren't going to hurt you.". Storm sighed in relief, but his nervousness persisted. He knew that the stallions were only protecting the airport and everypony in it, but he also knew that if he'd step out of line, he'd get in huge trouble with them, which he didn't want.

"Alright, next please." said the pony at the passport booth, dismissing two dragons who were visiting Cloudsdale, and motioning for Equinox and Storm to come to the booth. While Storm watched nervously, Equinox handed him their passports, which he read.

"Equinox Moon?" he asked, looking at her.

"Yep, that's me." she replied, giving him a friendly grin.

"Alright. Stormfire?" he asked, looking down at the colt. He waved at him awkwardly, before hiding behind Equinox.

He then proceeded to read the documents.

"So, it says here that you two are seeking to move back into the country, am I right?" he asked.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, we are." replied Equinox.

"It also says here that you lived in Gryffsvale during your stay in the Gryphon Empire, now known as Aerovis and that you were a weather pony, ma'am." the stallion explained. Storm's hooves were shaking like a rattle as he listened to the passport stallion. What if they don't get into the country?

"One final question." the stallion asked. "Are you staying at somepony's home or do you have your own?"

"We'll be staying at my friend's house for the time being, sir." Equinox replied.

"Ah. Alright." the stallion said, giving her an approving smile. "Welcome back to Equestria, ma'am."

"Thank you, sir." she replied, returning the smile. Storm sighed in relief and followed Equinox through a metal detector, before entering a different hallway, which led to another revolving door. After going through the revolving door, Storm and Equinox found themselves inside a large building, with a magnificent dome made of water ice serving as the roof of the building. Storm looked around to see hundreds, if not, thousands of ponies, Gryphons, zebras (using magic to walk on the cloudy floor) and numerous other species, all waiting to get their baggage. Equinox and Storm walked up to the conveyor belt marked EQ242-GRYFINO and waited for their luggage to come out (the boxes with more of their stuff were scheduled to arrive a week later). A moment later, Equinox's suitcases came out, followed by Storm's suitcase. They both took the suitcases off the conveyor belt and carried them to the main concourse, separated from the baggage claim building by a long bridge, at least three-four floors above ground.

Both of them took the moving walkway in the middle of the bridge in order to save them time. As they neared the main concourse of the airport, Storm turned to look outside at Cloudsdale. The city took his breath away. There were several tall buildings made out of either cloud or water ice in the distance, surrounded by a seemingly infinite expanse of lower rise buildings, cloud forests, shopping malls and more cloud buildings. There was even a large arena, unlike anything Storm had ever seen before, towering intimidatingly over the surrounding city. Oh yes, Cloudsdale was something, alright.

Just then, Equinox noticed Storm staring out of the window, looking at the magnificent cloud city before them and smiled at him.

"So, what do you think, son?" she asked, looking at him staring at the city, with the delight of a small foal.

"It looks so freaking awesome..." he replied, still not turning his eyes away from the city.

"I agree." she said. "It's the best city in the entire country. Me and your dad grew up here..."

"It must have been great growing up here." he replied, finally turning his eyes away from the expansive metropolis towards the end of the moving walkway.

"It sure was, son." she replied.

A moment later, they reached the end of the moving walkway and stepped off it, before going into a glass elevator, which gave them a clear view of the terminal. The elevator arrived at it's destination, the lobby floor, and Equinox and Storm stepped out of it.

Just then, their eyes caught a sign saying "EQUINOX MOON/STORMFIRE", being held up by a rather tall, buff, light yellow stallion with a white-gray mane and a gust of wind as his cutie mark. This was a stallion whom Equinox recognized very well...

"Oh, my gosh." she gasped. "It's High..."

"Who?" asked Storm, looking rather confused.

"High Wind." replied Equinox. "He's waiting for us."

"Oh, him." said Storm, finally remembering who High Wind was.

"Come on, sweetie. Let's go." she said, motioning for Storm to follow her. Just then, the stallion noticed them approaching and gave them a warm, welcoming smile. The stallion's foals were also present; his oldest foal was a light gray colt with a mane just like his father's, and a guitar for his cutie mark, while his youngest was a yellow-white filly with a blue mane and no cutie mark yet.

"EQUINOX!" shouted High, pushing past some ponies passing by and trotting towards her. Equinox noticed him trotting up to her and dropped her suitcase, a tearful smile forming on her face. Storm's jaw dropped as he watched the muscular stallion trot up to his mom and hug her tightly. Who the hay was this guy? Why the hay was he hugging his mom? Storm did not know, but he wasn't liking him one bit. The hug lasted for a minute or so.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so glad you're here..." he said, tears streaming down his face.

"I missed you so much, High..." she replied, also in tears. "I've been wanting to get home for the past ten years... I honestly can't believe I'm really here. Thank you so much..."

"My pleasure." he replied. "And thank you for keeping me company these past few years... ever since she died, it's not been the same."

"Who died?" asked Equinox.

"My wife... she had a horrible disease that just won't go away." he explained, wiping his eyes with a cloth, and then wiping her eyes with it. "She's been gone for the past four years."

"I'm sorry for your loss, High..." she replied, genuinely feeling sorry for him. "I know how you feel."

"You helped me through a tough time for me, you helped all of us." he said, still tearful, before motioning for his two kids to come to them. Equinox motioned for Storm to come over to them. "And you must be Stormfire." High said, giving him a warm and friendly smile.

"Yes, I'm-Stormfire, sir." he replied rather nervously. High then let out a hearty chuckle.

"You don't need to call me "sir", Stormfire." High replied. "Just call me High."

"Are you alright with that?" he asked.

"Yeah, go ahead." High replied. "Oh, and meet my kids. This is my son, Gust Wind..." he explained, pointing to the Pegasus colt, who looked to be at least a year or two older than Storm.

"Sup?" asked Gust, outstretching his hoof.

"Eh, not much." replied Storm, shaking his hoof.

"And this is my daughter, Mist River." he replied, looking at the Pegasus filly who was around a year or two younger than Storm.

"Hi." he replied, smiling at her. "I'm Storm."

"The name's Mist." she replied, putting on a mafioso accent, before changing it into a British accent. "Lovely to meet you."

"Likewise." Storm replied.

Both parents chuckled to themselves at Mist's accents.

"Mist here likes imitating characters from movies that we've seen together." explained High Wind. "And Gust likes to rock out on his very own guitar, like the guitarist from his favorite band, Cloudsdale's Crazies. It's a ridiculous name if you ask me, but he likes it."

"So, anyways..." replied Gust. "Shouldn't we be heading home by now? I have guitar practice in an hour."

"Oh, alright." replied High Wind. "I forgot about that... come on, let's head home."

"Wait!" shouted Equinox. "Storm can't fly..."

"What?" asked Gust, his jaw dropping. "He's a Pegasus, for Pete's sake!"

"He can't...fly? asked Mist, bewildered.

"That's a shame." replied High Wind. "Luckily, I can teach him."

"You don't have to, High." said Storm. "Really..."

"Well, okay then." replied High, sighing. "Let's head home."

Twenty-five minutes later, they reached High's house, which was a modest suburban home, typical of North Cloudsdale.

He opened the door, carrying two of Equinox's suitcases (much to Storm's disgust) in one hoof and led everypony in.

"Welcome home." he said, putting down the suitcases beside an armchair. While Gust went to get his guitar and Mist went to get a snack from the kitchen, High and Equinox talked about their lives up to this point.

"So, how was the Gryphon Empire?" he asked.

"Well, it's nothing like Equestria, that's for sure." she replied, chuckling slightly as Storm watched with a cold glare from beside the door. Already he felt like High Wind was... taking his dad's spot. _Nah, that's ridiculous..._ he thought to himself. _Dad's been dead for the past eleven years... get over it, Storm._

"I've been working as a weather pony as well... just a year ago, I made the most important weather event in Cloudsdale's history; a double rainbow." he bragged. Storm groaned in disgust. _What a braggart. No one can make a double rainbow._

"Really?" asked Equinox. "Wow..."

"What's the best weather you've ever created?" asked High Wind.

"A snowstorm." she said rather modestly. "I know it's nothing special or anything, but I can't do anything better."

"Hey, that's not bad." he replied, smiling warmly at her. "That's actually very impressive."

"Really?" asked Equinox, her smile widening.

"Yeah. I mean, almost nopony in the Cloudsdale weather center can make a snowstorm." he explained. "Hey, how about I get you a job there?"

"You'd do that?" asked Equinox.

"Why not?" replied High Wind, with a question of his own.

"Thank you..." Equinox replied. "You're like a guardian angel..."

"And you're like one as well..." he replied. "A beautiful, beautiful angel."

Just then, their eyes met and they chuckled rather awkwardly at their little moment, much to the disgust of Storm.

He fake coughed several times, getting the attention of Equinox and High.

"Mom?" asked Storm.

"Yeah, sweetie?" she asked.

"Where am I going to sleep tonight?" he asked.

"Oh, sorry. I was going to show you around the house and I got a bit carried away with talking to your mom." he said. Just then, Gust trotted down the stairs, carrying his guitar on his back. He turned to look at Equinox and High, before turning to look at Storm with a disapproving stare.

"Alright, dad." Gust begun. "I'm heading out for guitar practice. See you later..."

"Bye son." High replied, waving at him.

"Bye, blank flank loser." he said, looking at Storm with a glare, before opening the door and stepping out of the house. Storm had no idea why he called him a 'blank flank loser', so he decided to ask Equinox later on.

"Alright, you guys." said High. "It's time to tour the house. Come on, let's go upstairs."

Equinox and Storm followed High up the stairs, which led to a large hallway. The first room they checked out was Gust's room, which was rather large and was decorated with posters of famous rock stars from Cloudsdale and the surrounding area. There was also a fancy digital radio in the corner of the room, its antenna towering ominously over the room and casting it's shadow on Gust's bed.

"This is Gust's room." explained High Wind, letting them take a look inside, before leading them towards the next room. The next room was fairly different from Gust's room. It had pink walls with posters of famous pop singers and a poster of the Bitalian crime film Mafia Nights. There were also toys and memorabilia from various other movies lined up on the dresser. _Interesting collection..._ Storm thought to himself.

"This is Mist's room." explained High.

"I see Mist's a fan of gangster films." said Equinox, looking disapprovingly at the poster of Mafia Nights hanging on the wall.

"Yeah, she loves crime films. In fact, we both do

* * *

><p>." explained High Wind.<p>

"Isn't she a bit too young to be watching crime films?" asked Equinox.

"They let us both in to see a re release of Mafia Nights two months ago, so I think she's fine." replied High Wind, before moving onto the next room. The final room wasn't as interesting as the previous rooms, but it was fairly large and spacious, with a large bed and a wardrobe in it.

"And this is my room." High said. "You two will sleep downstairs if that's alright until we prepare proper rooms for you, alright?"

"Okay." replied Equinox. "Are you happy, Storm?"

"Yeah, happy..." grumbled Storm, unhappy that he doesn't have a proper bed.

"Oh, are you hungry? I have tomato soup ready." explained High. The mention of tomato soup made Storm's stomach growl like a vicious dog. He hadn't eaten anything since breakfast on the plane.

"Oh yes, please." said Equinox, before turning to look at Storm.

"Uh, okay." replied Storm.

"Alright, let's go to the kitchen." said High, leading them downstairs and into the kitchen.

Storm had to admit, while he didn't really like High that much and thought that he was an imposter trying to take his dad's place, his tomato soup tasted heavenly. He had never tried soup like that back in Aerovis, where the soup was highly sour and acidic. In comparison, the soup in Cloudsdale was completely natural.

"So," begun High, trying to break the ice. "Liking your soup, Storm?" He only nodded in reply as his mouth was full of tomato soup. "That's great. What about you, Equi?" Equinox turned to look at him and gulped down the tomato soup in her mouth, before being able to speak.

"It tastes wonderful." she replied, smiling warmly. "Thank you, High."

"My pleasure." he replied. "You'd be surprised to know that the soup we make in this part of Equestria is made from 100% natural ingredients and nothing artificial at all."

"That's ridiculous." complained Storm. "How can something be completely natural?"

"Well Storm, it must be different in Aerovis, but here in Equestria, we only source the best ingredients from the best plantations around the country." High explained, before putting his bowl of soup under the faucet.

"Yeah? And how do you know?" asked Storm.

"Storm, High worked on a tomato plantation near his grandpa's ranch." Equinox explained, finishing off her soup.

"Yep. I spent two months working at my grandma and grandpa's ranch in the San Palomino Desert." he explained, putting on a thick southern accent at the end of his sentence.

"Maybe that's why you're so muscular..." said Equinox, attempting to flirt with High. A small blush begun to form on his face, and that blush begun to slowly become more visible to everypony in the room, including to Storm, who seemed most disgusted. A stallion whom he only met a few hours ago was attempting to flirt with his mother. If only Storm's dad was here, then he'd beat the living daylights out of High for trying to romance his mother.

"Yeah, you look even better than I do. No seriously... you do, Equi." he replied awkwardly, before his entire face turned red and he begun to shake. Suddenly, his wings unfolded rapidly to their full size and they froze in place. Both Storm and Mist spat out their soup in shock and Equinox, blushing furiously, turned away from High, in order not to look at the handsome stallion sitting beside her.

"Nothing to see here, kids... he he." High begun rather awkwardly, much to the disgust of Storm and Mist. "I just think your mom is rather... hot, Storm. Go play upstairs, both of you. Like I said, nothing to see here."

A few moments later...

After eating lunch and witnessing High's little 'wing malfunction', Storm and Mist went to play upstairs in her room. While Mist went to look for a game for them to play, Storm was busy thinking. Thinking about his mom and High and whether they were right for one another. While Storm did think his mom deserved to be happy and settle down with a stallion, he still couldn't trust High, no matter how friendly and helpful he seemed. What if he tried to take advantage of them? What if he kicked them out during the cold, merciless winters that north central Equestria is famous for? Or what if he tried to attack them? Questions like that raced through Storm's head as he tried to decide whether High can be trusted or not.

"Hey Storm." begun Mist, pulling out a board game. "I found a game we could play together."

"What is it?" asked Storm, snapping out of his thoughts.

"Chess!" she replied enthusiastically, opening the box containing the game and spilling out its contents. Storm groaned as he looked at the chessboard and the different pieces scattered around the floor. As much as he enjoyed playing board games, he could never learn how to play chess properly. "What's wrong?" asked Mist.

"Oh, nothing nothing..." Storm replied. "It's just that I've never played chess before."

"You can't?" asked Mist. "Why not?"

"I could never fully learn, Mist." explained Storm.

"Me and my dad could teach you, if you want." she replied.

"NO-I mean, no. You don't have to." said Storm.

"Okay..." she replied awkwardly, but shrugged the awkwardness off. "Hey Storm."

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Why can't you fly properly?" she asked in reply.

"Because I just can't, okay?..." replied Storm. "And it's definitely too late for me to learn."

"You know what my dad says?" asked Mist.

_I don't really care, but okay..._"What?"

"You can't give up on your dreams." she explained. "Does flying mean anything to you, Storm?"

"Yes." he replied. "I've been wanting to fly for the past few years."

"Then why not fly?" she asked.

"Because I can't, okay?!" Storm replied, now agitated.

"Okay, no need to shout..." she said, as calmly as she could. "Chill, Storm."

"Okay..." Storm replied, calming down noticeably. "Sorry."

"It's okay." she beamed. "What do you think happened to my dad's wings today at lunch?"

"Oh, that..." Storm begun, chuckling sarcastically. "I don't know."

"I think he likes your mom..." Mist replied, smiling wryly.

"You think?" asked Storm, a glare forming on his face. "_He likes my mom?!_"

"Isn't it obvious dude?" she asked.

Storm gritted his teeth in anger and jumped off the bed, before giving Mist a deathly glare.

"Dude, chill..." she said, trying to calm Storm down. "Why are you acting like this all of a sudden?"

Storm sighed and lowered his head in shame, before turning to face Mist.

"My mom, she had numerous coltfriends back in Aerovis, who promised her that they'll help us get to Equestria." Storm answered, with a rather angry tone in his voice. "However, instead of helping us, they took advantage of mom and me. One of them even made my mom his 'pleasure pony', whatever that may mean."

Back in Aerovis, Equinox tried her hardest for her and Storm to move back to Equestria, keeping every Gryphon coin or note she earned in a box hidden very well inside their basement, however all that money was lost after their house was bombed.

Before Ava and Vortex helped them, they had to stay with several male Gryphons, two or three of them being Equinox's love interests. They promised them tickets to Equestria, but they lied. One night, they were kicked out of one of the Gryphon's houses after Equinox had some 'private time' with him, and another night, they were attacked by a Gryphon after Equinox refused to give him the money she earned that day at work.

"Pleasure pony?" asked Mist. "I've never heard that term before..."

"I don't know what it means either, but I think it is something bad..." replied Storm.

"So, lemme guess." Mist begun. "You're scared that my dad might turn out like one of your mom's previous coltfriends."

"Exactly." Storm replied.

"Well, he won't." said Mist. "I don't know, just try and get to know each other better. Who knows? Maybe you'll like my dad more?"

"How do you know he won't?" asked Storm.

"Well, you can trust my dad, no matter what happens." Mist explained proudly. "My dad is the best dad in the world."

Just then, they heard hoovesteps coming up the stairs.

"Hey, kids." begun the voice, belonging to High Wind. "We're going to go get Storm a place at North Cloudsdale Elementary School. We're waiting for you downstairs."

"Elementary school?" asked Storm, having never come across the term before.

"Yeah, in Equestria, you go to elementary school until you're 12 or 13. What age are you?" asked Mist.

"I'm turning eleven in six months." he replied. "What about you?"

"I'm eight and a half." she said. "And Gust is thirteen."

"So, what's Gust in?" asked Storm.

"Middle school." Mist replied. Storm nodded in reply and both of them made their way downstairs, where Equinox and High Wind were waiting for them.

"Hey kids." said High Wind. "You ready, Storm?"

"Yeah, I am." Storm replied rather nervously.

"Excellent!" replied Equinox. "Alright then, let's go."

They made their way to North Cloudsdale Elementary School, which was situated a few blocks away from High Wind's house. As they walked towards the school building, which had an Equestrian flag fluttering in the warm wind, Storm couldn't help but look at the building. It was a lot smaller than his school back in Gryffsvale, but it looked a whole lot nicer.

The group of Pegasi walked through the open gate and up the water ice stairs, before walking through the main door, and while Equinox and High Wind were being Interviewed by the principal of the school, Storm and Mist were sitting outside his office.

"So, Storm..." begun Mist. "Are you excited in being a Cloudsdale student?"

"Yes.. and no." he replied, rather awkwardly. "As much as I'm looking forward to starting a new school, I'm a bit worried about starting school. I'm worried if anyone will like me and if I'll do good."

"Don't worry." she said, putting her hoof on his shoulder. "I know you'll do great. I believe in you."

"Thanks Mist..." Storm smiled at her. "I only know you for a few hours and already you seem like the sister I never had."

"I do?" she asked. "Thank you, Storm. And you're like my second brother."

"I am?" asked Storm, a small smile creeping onto his face.

"Well, of course, silly!" she said, smiling at him. "I always wanted a second brother."

"And I always wanted a sister." he said.

Just then, both High Wind and Equinox Moon came out of the principal's office, both wearing smiles on their faces, Storm knowing very well why they were so happy.

"Great news, sweetie." begun Equinox.

"They accepted you into the school." High continued, with pride in his voice. "You're starting tomorrow, Storm."

"I am?" Storm asked, his pupils shrinking.

"Well, yeah." Equinox replied. "I know it, son. You'll do great!"

"Well, maybe I will." concluded Storm. "I am a bit nervous though."

"Don't be!" replied High. "This was the elementary school I went to when I was your age. You'll love it."

"Uh-huh." Said Storm awkwardly. _Can I take your word for it? Of course not._

**The next morning.**

"Good morning, everypony!" said a rather cheerful teacher by the name of Mrs. Horseshoe to her class, around twenty mostly bored fillies and colts. "I hope you all had a great weekend. Have you?"

"Yes, Mrs. Horseshoe!" said the class in unison.

"That's great!" she said, turning away from her students to face thechalkboard. "Have you all done your homework?"

"Yes, Mrs. Horseshoe!"

"That's great. We also have a new student today joining our class." she explained cheerfully, motioning to the door, behind which stood Storm, looking into the classroom with a look of fear on his face. What if they don't accept him? What if he makes no friends? Or what if he gets bullied? Questions like that raced through his mind as he tried to decide whether to go into the classroom. Eventually, a few moments later, he plucked up the courage to go into the classroom.

"Everypony, this is Stormfire." explained Mrs. Horseshoe, turning to face the young colt. All the colts and fillies in the room turned to face Storm, which made him extremely nervous. "Why don't you tell us about yourself, Stormfire?"

A moment or two later, the nervous colt managed to speak.

"Uh, hi..." he begun, shaking like a foal's rattle. "...I'm Stormfire and I just moved here from Aerovis."

Some of the colts and fillies begun to whisper and snicker amongst themselves, which unnerved Storm even more. Was it something he said? He did not know, but he wasn't liking it one bit.

"Can I please sit down, ma'am?" asked Storm.

"Why certainly!" she beamed. "There's a vacant seat between Singer and Hurricane Force." she explained, pointing to a vacant desk at the back of the class beside which sat two colts; one of the colts was navy blue and had a red mane, while the other colt had a light blue mane and gray coat.

Storm walked between several desks, trying to get to his desk as fast as he could. However, before he could get to his desk, something very unpleasant happened...

"Hey guys." whispered a colt to his friends, pointing at Storm's flank. "He doesn't even have his mark!"

_What mark?_ thought Storm, turning to look at the snickering colts, who were all looking at his flank. _Oh... so that's what Gust meant by 'blank flank loser'._ he concluded, before continuing towards his desk.

He sat down between the two colts and looked at the chalkboard where the teacher was writing down some multiplication, before turning to look at the two colts sitting on both sides of him. _Maybe I'll make some friends here..._

"Hi." beamed Singer. "You're Stormfire, right?"

"Yeah, hi..." Storm replied awkwardly.

"Hi, blank-flank." said Hurricane Force. "So, you're from the Gryphon lands, huh?"

"Yeah? What's wrong with that?" asked Storm, his nervousness returning to him.

"Oh, nothing nothing." replied Hurricane. "So, your mom's a Gryphon?"

"No, she's not!" said Storm, visibly offended.

"Yes she is, you half-Gryphon freak." he barked back.

"Hurricane, leave him alone." replied Singer. "What did Storm do to you?"

"You stay out of this, Dinger." threatened Hurricane. "And look, he's a blank-flank..." he explained, pointing to his flank, where there should be a mark.

"Why is everyone talking about my flank?" groaned Storm.

"Because your cutie mark shows who you are... and if you don't have one then you're nopony." explained Hurricane. "Bucking loser."

The words Hurricane said hit Storm harder than a crossbow hitting him on the head. If he wanted to be considered 'somepony' he needed to get his mark, and he needed to get it quickly, or face endless torment by bullies like Hurricane. But how was he going to get his mark?

"Leave him alone, will you?" asked Singer, with a firm tone in his voice.

"How about... no?" replied Hurricane.

"Hurricane?" asked the teacher, who was obviously aware of what he was doing to Storm.

"Yes ma'am?"

"If you're going to continue your behavior, then I'll put you in detention for a week." she explained. "Understood?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Good."

"You're gonna be sorry you even came here, you blank-flank piece of crap." threatened Hurricane, turning to look at Storm.

"Okay..." replied Storm, feeling rather awkward. _Well, so much for making friends..._

Around forty-five minutes later, the bell for recess rang and every colt and filly in the class trotted outside, including Storm, Hurricane and Singer. Hurricane left the classroom first, giving a rather nervous Storm a death glare. After Hurricane left, Storm and Singer went to play outside.

"Hey, it'll be okay..." said Singer, trying his best to comfort Storm. "He's just a bully."

"Is what he said about me being a blank-flank true?" asked Storm.

"No! Why would it be, dude?" answered Singer. "There's nothing wrong with being a blank flank according to me."

"Really?" asked Storm, his smile returning to his face.

"Yeah!" beamed Singer. "I mean, look at my best friend Violet. She's your age and she doesn't have her cutie mark yet, but I still think that she's the greatest, most amazing filly I ever met."

"Cutie mark?" asked Storm, struggling to contain his laughter. "Is that what it's called? It sounds kinda girly if you ask me..."

"Well, yeah..." replied Singer. "It sure does..."

"So, what can I do to get my... cutie mark?" asked Storm, still trying his hardest not to laugh.

"Just do something you're good at." replied Singer, giving him a friendly smile. "I got my cutie mark because I'm good at singing." he explained, turning to look at his cutie mark; a microphone with the cord cut off.

"Yeah, but I don't know what I'm good at." sighed Storm.

"You'll find out someday, dude." said Singer, putting his hoof on Storm's shoulder.

"Maybe..." said Storm, his unsure expression turning into a grin.

"Can you fly?" asked Singer.

"Uh, not really..." replied Storm, rather reluctantly, not knowing the reaction he'd get from Singer.

"That's okay." said Singer. "There's this new flying club at lunch that's just started up. I could get you a place if you want."

"You'd do that?" asked Storm.

"Of course." he beamed. "You seem like a cool pony to hang out with. Maybe we could be friends?"

"That would be great." said Storm, smiling. "I'd love to be your friend."

"Me too. So, what do you say?" begun Singer. "Friends till the end?" he asked, extending out his hoof.

"Friends till the end." replied Storm, bumping his hoof. _Maybe I have a chance at making friends here..._

A few hours later...

The school day went by fairly quickly, much quicker than Storm had expected before. Despite being constantly pestered by Hurricane (who continuously tried to torment him by saying that he's a "blank-flank") and failing to get enrolled in the flying club, Storm remained cool and calm. Why? Because he had a friend to spend the day with, and that friend was Singer. After the final school bell rang and everypony left for home, Singer walked with Storm back home (as his mom was at work at the time) and so decided to start up a conversation.

"So, how was your first day?" asked Singer.

"It wasn't as bad as I expected it to go..." replied Storm, smiling awkwardly.

"It isn't as bad here as you may think." said Singer. "In fact, it's actually a great experience."

"You sure?" asked Storm.

"Yeah. Trust me, it can seem hard at first trying to fit in, but I know you'll do great, buddy." explained Singer.

"Thanks, dude." replied Storm. "How's Violet? I haven't seen her at school today."

"Oh, she's off sick with the feather flu." explained Singer as they begun to near Storm's house (Singer's house was a few streets away). "She should be back at school by next week."

"That's good to hear." replied Storm. "Anyways, thanks for hanging out with me, Singer."

"No problem." he beamed. "See you tomorrow, Storm."

"Yeah, see you as well." said Storm, turning left and walking down a rather short pathway to his new, well, current home. A few moments later, he arrived in front of the house and opened the front door, before walking in.

"Hey mom, I'm home!" he said, dumping his bag beside the door, however, he got no answer from his mom, or from anypony else in the house. _That's strange. It's 3 PM. She should be back by now..._ Storm thought to himself, growing more and more nervous with every passing second. He knew that Mist was away on a class field trip to Canterlot (which Storm had never heard of in his life) and that Gust came back home half an hour later (as he was in middle school), but where was his mom, and where was High Wind? Did he kidnap his mom? Did he do anything bad to her? Storm did not know, but he was soon about to find out.

"Mom?" asked Storm, walking ever deeper down the hallway, which led to a closed door, behind which could be heard... conversations and laughing? Curious, he turned the doorknob and pushed the door, before walking into the room. However, what he saw in that room shocked him beyond belief. His mom was sitting on the couch, resting against High's body, his wings wrapped around her own body. Both of them were enjoying some fresh apple cider, and were listening to the local smooth jazz radio station. Storm's shocked expression slowly faded into a disgusted glare. What the hay did High Wind think he was doing to his mom? Was he trying to seduce her? Was he trying to take advantage of her like the male Gryphons back in Aerovis? And why was his mom... letting him do that?

"Well, it's a great thing you got into the weather team, honey..." he said, nuzzling her.

"Yeah, all thanks to you." she replied, resting her body against his.

Storm cleared his throat, hoping to get the attention of them both.

"Oh, hey son." said Equinox, moving slightly away from High.

"Hey mom." replied Storm, rather nervously.

"Hey sport!" begun High. "How was school?"

"It was great!" said Storm, turning to give him a quick glare, before turning back towards Equinox. "It was really interesting. I made a new friend and stuff."

"That's great, sweetie." replied Equinox, returning to nuzzle against High Wind. "Told you you'll make friends here."

"What do you want for lunch, Storm?" asked High, wrapping his wing around her. "We have hay pizza."

"Hay pizza sounds good, I guess..." he replied, with an emotionless tone in his voice, still unhappy about what they were doing together.

"Alright, then." replied High, getting up and heading off to the kitchen, leaving Storm and Equinox in the living room. "Pizza will be ready in half an hour."

While waiting for his pizza, Storm was in Mist's room, writing a letter to his friends back in Aerovis. A tear dropped out of his eye onto the piece of paper he was writing on, as he thought about his old friends and what they were up to right now. It saddened him deeply, having to leave the first friends he's ever made back in Aerovis, but he knew that there were new friends waiting for him in Cloudsdale, however, nothing could change how he felt about his old friends. Absolutely nothing. They were like brothers and sister to him, and it hurt him horribly having to leave them back there.

_Hey guys,_

_How are you all doing? We landed in Cloudsdale yesterday, and I got a place at the local elementary school (basically Equestria's equivalent of a 'junior school'). Life is great here, well, sort of. You see, there's this guy who's growing increasingly attached to my mom. My mom knows him, but I don't trust him one bit. I'm scared he'll turn out like one of my mom's previous love interests. Remember these guys? Yeah... they weren't the most pleasant of Gryphons._

_Anyways, how's your weekend been? Did you go anywhere? Did you do anything cool?_

_I look forward to hearing from you soon! It's a shame we can't see each other in person, though... yeah. I miss you all so much._

_Storm_

A few months later..

The months seemed to pass by in a flash and the warm, late summer air slowly became more and more colder as winter approached. Eventually, sometime in November, it started to snow, rather lightly at first, but as December begun, the city of Cloudsdale was often hit by huge blizzards, which moved down from a large mountain range to the north west of the city. While the winter weather created problems for the vast majority of adults from Cloudsdale and the surrounding area, the foals didn't seem to mind. In fact, they loved it. One of the foals who loved the winter weather was Stormfire, who had experienced a snowy winter before several times in Aerovis, but never among other ponies. This was Storm's first Equestrian winter. While he wasn't at school, he often played with Singer in Ponyville Park (which had some really deep snow, especially during December), visited the local ice rink in downtown Cloudsdale or just played in the snow.

Eventually, it was time for a great holiday, one that Storm had never come across in Aerovis; Hearth's Warming Eve. He wasn't sure exactly what the point of the holiday was, but he learned from his mom and High Wind that it had something to do with the Founding of Equestria itself, several thousand years ago. However, it also had something to do with a certain "Santa Hooves", who according to Mist, would bring presents to all the good colts and fillies, and burning coal to the ones who misbehave. As today was Hearth's Warming Eve, High's relatives from places all over Equestria were visiting him, which meant the house had to be virtually spotless.

By evening, the Hearth's Warming Eve party was in full swing, with loud music playing downstairs and great food, prepared by Equinox, being served. Storm and Mist sat down with some of High Wind's cousins, watching Gust Wind jam on his guitar to a holiday tune.

"Whoo!" shouted High Wind, finishing playing along to the song.

"That was great work, Gust!" said Mist.

"That's a really hard song to play, and you nailed it." explained High Wind's cousin, Fast Wheels, who worked as a carriage dealer and a part-time musician (he was the one who first taught Gust how to play the guitar) in Detrot. "Well done, nephew."

"Aww, Uncle Fast, it's no biggie." replied Gust Wind, rather modestly. "Thanks for teaching me this song."

"That was brilliant, young Gust!" said High Wind's sister, Snowy Gale, who was visiting him from Vanhoover. "You nailed it!"

"Yep, that was great!" said Storm. "I wouldn't be surprised if you start your own band in the future."

"Thanks, blank-flank..." said Gust, turning to give him a glare.

"Gust, don't talk to Storm like that!" shouted Equinox, from the kitchen.

"Sorry, ma'am." he answered modestly, before continuing to glare at Storm. "I'll deal with you later..."

"Okay." replied Storm, rather confused and slightly nervous about what Gust would do to him. Was it because he was a blank-flank? He did not know, but he wasn't liking this one bit.

Meanwhile, High Wind and Equinox were enjoying a glass of champagne at the table with several other relatives.

"So, what is Aerovis like?" asked one rather fancily-dressed mare by the name of Glittery Dream, who was a fashion model in Manehattan.

"Well, it's nothing like Equestria is, that's for sure..." Equinox replied, chuckling slightly. "It's different in almost every way."

"How different?" asked one stallion.

"Well, I just said it's different in almost every way." replied Equinox.

"What were the Gryphons like?" asked a mare.

"Woah, let's not ask too many questions, _ma familia_." replied High Wind, holding Equinox's hoof underneath the table. "I have an important announcement to make."

Everypony in the room, including Storm stopped what they were doing and turned to face High Wind, who looked incredibly nervous.

"Equinox?" begun High, a blush forming on his face. He then knelt down in front of Equinox and pulled out a small, velvet box and flipped it open, revealing a golden ring. "These past few months I've spent with you have been the best few months of my life. You're an amazing pony, and I would like nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with you. So, will you marry me?"

Everyone sat facing him, speechless, especially Storm, who had a look of disgust grow on his face. _So, he's going as far as trying to marry my mom?_ he thought to himself. _He's probably trying to take advantage of us even more..._

"Yes, High Wind..." replied Equinox, tears rolling out of her eyes. "I will!"

"Happy Hearth's Warming Eve, honey." he said, kissing her passionately and putting the ring on her hoof. Storm grumbled angrily, and walked up to High Wind.

"Excuse me?" asked Storm. "What do you think you're doing to my mom?"

"Huh?" begun High Wind. "I proposed to her. What do you think I did?"

"Why?" asked Storm.

"Because I love her." replied High Wind.

"That's a lie, right?" said Storm, anger boiling inside of him.

"Why would it be a lie?" asked High Wind, perplexed.

"You're only saying that because you want to take advantage of us. That's what everypony does." explained Storm, trotting upstairs and locking himself in Mist's room. While everypony wondered what the hay just happened, High Wind and Equinox Moon followed him upstairs.

"Son, it's mom. What happened?" asked Equinox from behind the door to Mist's room.

"Look, Storm." begun High Wind. "I know you're stressed, and I'm sorry about that, but you have to chill out a bit."

"How am I supposed to chill out?!" shouted Storm from behind the door to the room. "Just leave me alone."

"Daddy, what happened to Storm?" asked Mist, who followed them upstairs.

"Okay." High Wind sighed, before making his way downstairs. "Come on, Mist. Let's go."

"Can I come in, son?" asked Equinox.

"Go ahead, mom."

"Alright." she replied, and gently pushed open the door and walked into the room, before noticing Storm sitting on Mist's bed. She closed the door and sat down on the bed beside Storm, who was crying into his hooves, before wrapping her wing around his body.

"I'm scared, mom..." he explained, leaning in against her body.

"Of what, son?" she asked.

"Of High..." he replied. "I'm worried he'll turn out like those Gryphons back in Aerovis..."

"Well, he won't." explained Equinox. "High Wind is a gentlepony like no other."

"I'm just scared, mom." he said. "I don't know if I can trust him."

"Well, let me tell you something." she begun. "I can understand why you don't trust him, but acting like this isn't going to get you anywhere. If you two at least try and get to know each other a bit more, then you'll very likely get to like each other."

"You sure?" asked Storm.

"Yep." she replied, winking at him. "Come on, let's go downstairs."

_Well, I felt rather stupid and foolish after my little outburst at the Hearth's Warming Eve dinner. I guess my mom does deserve to be with a stallion she can trust, but I was just scared that he'd turn out to be like the Gryphons who treated us so badly back in Aerovis. However, I still don't know if I can trust him. I guess, only time will tell. Only time will tell._


	6. Like Stepfather, Like Son

Storm sat at his school desk, trying to finish off a math sheet, and every once in a while, turning to look at the clock hanging above the door. Math was Storm's worst enemy, other than broccoli, peas and right now, High Wind. After a not-so-good Hearth's Warming Eve where Storm snapped at High Wind, he concluded that he just couldn't apologize to him and start anew. After all, he still didn't trust him one bit, especially since he was going to become Storm's stepfather in a few months time. Storm cringed at the thought of High Wind becoming his stepfather, but he knew that he loved Equinox, and he didn't want to interfere with their relationship. But he still hated High, with a passion.

"Hey, blanky-flanky." said Hurricane from behind him, hitting him on the back of the head with a ruler and causing Storm to rip the ruler out of his hooves. "Ooh, Mr. No-Mark is angry."

Some of the other kids in the class snickered among themselves after hearing Hurricane's statement, causing Storm to shake in pure nervousness. It's been almost six months since Hurricane's bullying had begun, and so far, it didn't look like it was going to end anytime soon.

"Just ignore him, Storm. He'll leave you alone." replied Singer, turning to glare at Hurricane.

"Who says I will?" asked Hurricane, jabbing Storm on the back of the head.

"Buck off!" shouted Storm, loud enough so that the teacher could hear him.

"Stormfire, language!" the teacher said, obviously very shocked and angry. Stormfire groaned and turned back to glare at Hurricane, who was chuckling along with some of his friends, before turning back to look at the teacher.

"Sorry, ma'am." he begun, before sighing and going back to his schoolwork. He had promised himself that he'd cut down the foul mouth and "street talk" he learned in Aerovis, but so far it wasn't working very well, especially since Hurricane was forcing him to use the curse words he had learned.

"It's alright, Stormfire." replied the teacher in a soothing voice. "Next time, just please. Don't swear."

"Yes ma'am."

"Alright, now continue with your math work." said the teacher. "We still have half an hour to go before we all go home."

_Half an hour?_ Storm asked himself, before turning around and looking to see Hurricane and his cronies give him a quick glare, before turning back to face his math sheet. Storm hated Monday afternoons, especially math class, which he usually had last. While he knew that math was his last lesson today, he absolutely hated it, especially since Hurricane was pestering him constantly. Mrs. Horseshoes left the classroom for a few minutes to talk to another teacher, which allowed the students to mess around.

"Hey, Storm." said Hurricane from behind him. "Look out of the window!"

"Wha-" he begun, turning to look out of the window, but he saw nothing behind it, except some cloud houses. _Hurricane, you twat..._ he cursed under his breath, before getting hit on the back of the head with a ruler. He turned around to see who it was, before being hit with it again, this time on the face.

"Oh, look. Stormfire is going to cry!" said Hurricane, before chuckling darkly with his friends. Storm held his muzzle in pain and struggled to hold back his tears, but the pain was too much for him to withstand. A moment or so later, he started to cry, much to the horror of Singer and his friend Violet, who were watching the entire situation unfold.

"What do you think you're doing?" asked Violet, with a rather angry tone in her voice. "Why are you acting like this, Hurricane?"

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm just trying to rid our class of it's problem." he replied, turning to glare at her, before turning back towards Stormfire, who was still holding his muzzle. "Shut up, Violet."

"Hey, leave Violet alone! Oh, and Storm, don't listen to him." said Singer, trying his best to comfort him. "You're not a problem, okay?"

"Yes, I am..." replied Storm, trotting out of the classroom and locking himself in the janitor's closet, which was just opposite of the classroom.

"Stormfire, please." pleaded the teacher, trying her hardest to unlock the janitor's door. The entire class were gathered around the door, including Singer and Violet, who seemed to be the most concerned. "Please, open the door, alright?"

"No. Not until **he** promises to leave me alone!"

"Who?" asked the teacher, with a hint of concern in her voice.

"Hurricane." replied Storm, from behind the door. The teacher, and the other pupils turned to look at Hurricane and his friends, with glares on their faces. His heart literally stopped after hearing Storm call out his name. A glare formed on his face, but he decided to hide it so not to get in even more trouble with the teacher. "I didn't do anything, ma'am!"

"It's true, ma'am." said Singer. "He's the one that's been bullying Storm."

"What?" spat Hurricane. "Shut up, I've been trying to help him."

"Helping him how?" asked Violet. "By hitting him on the back of the head with a ruler? By hitting him repeatedly? By calling him names?"

"What do you care? You're not involved in this."

"Foals, break it up." said the teacher, with a rather stern tone in her voice. "Hurricane, a word."

While Hurricane went to get lectured (and possibly suspended) by the teacher, Singer and Violet went up to the door of the janitor's closet and tapped lightly on it.

"Who is it?" asked Storm, in a rather depressed tone.

"It's just us." said Violet. "You don't have to be scared anymore, Storm."

"Is he gone?"

"Yes, he is." replied Singer. "He's busy getting lectured by Mrs. Horseshoes."

"Is it safe to come out now?"

"Yes." said Violet. "There's nothing to be afraid of anymore."

"Positive?"

"100 per cent." beamed Singer. "Come on, dude."

A few moments later, the door to the janitor's closet slowly opened and Storm stepped out of the closet, rather reluctantly. He looked around the corridor, trying to see if Hurricane was still there, but he couldn't see anypony that looked like him in between the thirty-something ponies who were his classmates.

"I want to go home..." replied Storm, tearing up at the sight of his friends and trotting up to Singer and Violet to give them a hug. "I hate this place..."

"Hey, hey." said Singer, at first taken slightly aback by Stormfire's hug. "It's alright... He's gone now, Storm. You don't have to worry about anything."

"Is what he said about me true?" asked Storm, crying his eyes out. "Am I really a problem?"

"No, you're anything but a problem, Storm." replied Violet, giving him a reassuring smile.

"Thanks, Violet." said Storm.

"Tell me, Storm. Why would you be a problem?" asked Singer.

"Because Hurricane says I am."

"Well, Hurricane is wrong." replied Singer, smiling warmly at him. "Never let anypony put you down, Storm. You're special in your own way."

"Thanks, Singer." said Storm, tears rolling out of his eyes. "You're the best friends anypony could ever ask for."

A few months later...

Around three months later, life for Stormfire returned to normal. While he was still relentlessly bullied by Hurricane and his friends, he had a friend to go to when he needed help. More like, two friends. Singer and Violet were two of the most incredible ponies he had ever met in his life. They looked out for him in school, they hung out with him during recess and lunch break and they played with him after school. In fact, they were starting to remind him more and more of Rainwynd, Sharpbeak and Lightning Wing, his friends back in Aerovis.

It was a rather nice Saturday morning in April. After some recent heavy rains over Cloudsdale and the surrounding area, the weather finally cleared up and was expected to remain like that for the next week or so, which meant that the temperatures rose dramatically, and that meant that Equinox and High Wind had to work longer hours at the weather factory. Stormfire didn't really care too much about High Wind, but he didn't want his mom to come back late at night, sometimes even at 11 PM or 12 AM. At times, Equinox was so tired, that after she came into the house, she often fell onto the couch and went to sleep there, instead of going to sleep with High. He hated seeing his mom so tired, but he knew that her hard work would pay off and one day, she'd be able to work normal hours. While Equinox worked until late night at the weather factory, High Wind worked on the weather patrol, which covered a twenty mile radius, from Cloudsdale to Ponyville. While both High and Equinox were working, Storm often found himself hanging out with Mist, who was by far, the coolest sister he could ever ask for, but he could never get through and hang out with Gust Wind, now a fourteen-year old, who preferred to ignore him and play loud guitar solos in his room, with the volume turned up to full.

Storm was playing a game of hoofball with Mist outside in the backyard. Despite not being the best colt on the school's hoofball team, Stormfire still knew how to play, and liked the sport.

"Catch the ball, Storm!" she shouted, throwing a brown, oval-shaped ball towards him. Storm did not hesitate and jumped up into the air, catching the ball with his two hooves and landing back down on the cloud ground.

"Now it's your turn, Mist!" he shouted, dribbling the ball across the cloud, before throwing it to Mist. The ball flew through the air, before landing in front of Mist.

"Aww." she begun. "Want to try again?"

"Maybe." replied Storm, giving her a smirk. A moment or so later, High Wind and Equinox Moon landed before them.

"Hey kids." begun High. "Me and your mom, Storm, are going to work on the wedding preparations. We should be back in three-four hours maximum. Alright?"

"Alright." grumbled Storm, still unhappy about his mom getting married to High Wind. Although over the past few months he got to know High Wind more, he still didn't trust him very much.

"See you in a little while, kids." said Equinox, nuzzling both of them gently, before taking off with High Wind into the sky.

"Storm, what's wrong?" asked Mist, noticing his scowl. "Are you _still_ upset about my dad getting married to your mom?"

"Yeah, sort of..." replied Storm, still scowling. "Sorry, Mist. I just still don't trust him very much..."

"It's okay, Storm." she said, putting her hoof on his shoulder. "My dad is an awesome dad. You don't have to be afraid of him."

"I know." he replied. "I'm just nervous."

"Don't be." she smiled. "It'll all be alright. You two will get along just fine."

"You sure?"

"Yep."

"Alright, Mist." he replied. "Want to get something to drink? It's a bit hot."

"Yep." she said, smiling. "My dad has soda!"

"He does?" asked Storm, knowing that they were only allowed to have sugary snacks and drinks every once in a while.

"Yep." beamed Mist.

"Alright then." said Storm. "Let's go."

A few hours later, Equinox and High Wind came back from the wedding preparations, and the entire family ate their dinner, Equinox's famous tomato soup.

"So, how did it go?" asked Mist, trying to break the ice.

"It went really well!" replied Equinox. "It's a shame we couldn't take you all... Was Gust looking after you two properly?"

"Yeah." they both replied in unison, a hint of awkwardness in their voices. While they knew Gust was quite irresponsible at times, they didn't want to get him into trouble with Equinox or High (especially Storm, who didn't want to get beat up by him).

"That's good." replied High Wind. "He can be really lazy and irresponsible at times, but I'm glad he can look after his siblings properly. Hey Storm, how about we do some flying lessons tomorrow?"

"Uh, no, sorry." he stammered. He was hoping that High Wind wouldn't bring up flying again, but unfortunately, he did.

"Why not?" asked High Wind, a rather concerned tone in his voice. "Look, Storm. Flying is necessary here in Cloudsdale. It's much easier to get around and it's much easier to fit in with other Pegasi."

"So, I need to learn how to fly in order to be a good citizen?" asked Storm, anger boiling inside of him.

"I didn't mean that, little guy." he replied rather awkwardly. "What I meant is that life for somepony that can fly is much easier, and since you can't fly, maybe that's why you get bullied."

"Shut up." barked Storm, shocking everypony gathered at the table; Equinox, Mist and even High Wind. "Just shut up!"

"Don't tell me to shut up, small fry." said High Wind, rising up out of his seat and towering intimidatingly over Storm. "I'm your father. You do exactly as I say."

"Pfft." spat Storm. "You wish, you schmuck."

"Boys, boys!" said Equinox, visibly angry at their behavior. "Break it up, you two. This is not the way I expected you both to behave."

"Sorry, honey." replied High Wind, sitting back down along with Storm.

"You're 'sorry'?" asked Storm, cringing slightly. "That's a joke. A very bad, unfunny joke. You're not sorry. You don't even care about us!"

At this point, everypony gathered at the table turned to look at Storm, jaws dropped.

"Tell me how I don't care about you." replied High Wind with a smirk. "_Enlighten me._"

"If you really did care about me, then you'd know that I can't fly." he explained, a few tears rolling out of his eyes. "And you're only taking advantage of mom. I know you are."

"Bu-" begun High, trying to calm things down.

"Just leave me alone." said Storm, tears rolling out of his eyes as he walked upstairs to his room.

"High Wind, go talk to him, honey." said Equinox, motioning for him to go upstairs.

"Nope. Not a chance." replied High Wind, shaking his head. "I'm not talking to Storm."

"Fine." begun Equinox. "If you won't talk to Storm, then I will."

Meanwhile...

Storm trotted upstairs and locked himself in his room, which was a spare room that High Wind and Equinox furnished back in December. Right now, he didn't feel like talking to anybody, not even his own mother or Mist. He was too angry to talk, too angry at High Wind. Angry at how much of a jerk he really was. He had made it clear to High Wind on several occasions that he didn't know how to fly, but he still kept pestering him about it. He laid on the bed, crying into the drenched pillow. How he wanted to go back to Aerovis, back to where he belonged, back to his old friends, back to his old life. He didn't want to be in Cloudsdale, especially with High Wind, who had managed to truly piss him off today, but Storm knew that he couldn't leave. No matter how much he wanted to, he couldn't.

Just then, a knock sounded on the door, snapping Storm out of his thoughts.

"Come in..."

Expecting High Wind to come in and give him a lecture on flying, Storm wrapped himself in his bed sheets and covered his ears with the pillow in order to block out High Wind. He didn't want to talk to him, not now, not ever.

"Son, what the hay was that all about?" asked Equinox in a rather stern voice, unlike her usual warm, friendly voice. Storm shot up and turned to look at Equinox, who was sitting at the foot of his bed, glaring at him.

"I'm sorry, mom..." replied Storm.

"You better be!" she barked. "Tell me, why are you behaving like this? Why?"

"Mom, I-"

"Storm, just tell me, why are you acting like this?" said Equinox, with a bitter tone in her voice. "For the love of Celestia, why do you dislike him so much?"

"I don't..." replied Storm. "I don't trust him... that's all."

"You don't trust High?" asked Equinox, calming down slightly, but still retaining her glare. "Why not?"

"I'm worried... he'll turn out to be like one of your previous coltfriends." explained Storm, almost shedding a tear. Equinox's glare visibly softened and she trotted up to Storm, hugging him as tightly as she could.

"Oh, sweetheart..." she said, caressing his mane with her hoof. "You don't have to be scared of High Wind."

"I just can't help, but feel that he's going to do something bad to us, like those Gryphons did." said Storm, crying into her coat. "I'm just scared, mom...I'm scared."

"Son, it's alright..." said Equinox, still hugging him tightly. "High Wind won't do anything bad to me or you..."

"You sure?" asked Storm, turning to look out of the open door to see if High Wind was standing outside, before turning back to look at Equinox.

"Yes, I'm sure." replied Equinox. "You don't have to be scared."

"Promise?" asked Storm.

"I promise." replied a voice, which did not belong to Equinox. Both Storm and Equinox turned to look at the source of the voice, and to Storm's surprise, it was High Wind, who was standing beside the door.

"What are you doing here?" asked Storm in a regretful tone. "I thought I angered you enough today."

"You did, but I couldn't keep being angry at you forever." explained High Wind. "And listen, we don't have to do flying lessons if you don't want to. It's your choice, and only yours."

"Look, I'm sorry for everything..." begun Storm, rather tearfully. "I was just scared."

"Of what?" asked High Wind.

"Of you." replied Storm, getting a puzzled look from High. "You see, back in Aerovis, my mom had several coltfriends who all promised us tickets here, but instead, we got robbed and attacked violently... sometimes, we even got kicked out into the cold just because my mom didn't do something she was told to do. I was just worried you'd be like that too. I was worried that you'd take advantage of us."

"I'd never do anything that would hurt you or your mom, Storm." explained High Wind, slightly shaken by the colt's story. "I protect you the same way I protect my kids. You don't have to be afraid. I would never do anything that would get you in harm's way. I care too much about you both."

"You do?"

"Yes." replied High Wind. "Around four years back, my wife came down with a very rare case of the feather flu, one that was very hard to cure. However, all treatments failed, which led us to discover that she had something very wrong with her immune system and that was affecting all her other systems."

Storm and Equinox looked at High Wind in shock, unsure what to say.

"And then after her diagnosis, the doctors told us to keep her in bed at all times, but even that didn't stop her body from destroying itself. Around five months later, scientists managed to develop a cure for the disease she, and around 650 other ponies around Equestria were suffering from, however it was too late." he explained, with tears in his eyes. "She perished from the disease a month later... The feather flu was only a symptom. I loved her so much..."

"Wow..." begun Storm, crying even harder. "I'm sorry for your loss..."

"it's okay... shit happens, I guess." replied High Wind, who was close to breaking down. "Anyways, your mother, she's been such a great help in helping us deal with her passing, and one of the reasons why I proposed to her was because I don't want to lose her, or lose you or my kids. You are all I have left in this world and I can't lose you. You all mean so much to me..."

"I'm sorry it happened, High..." said Storm, tearfully looking at High Wind, before turning to look at Equinox. "And I'm sorry for being such a jerk..."

"Hey, hey..." said High Wind. "Look at me, Storm."

Rather reluctantly, Storm turned to look at High Wind.

"It's alright..." he said, outstretching his hooves. "You're forgiven, little guy, and I don't blame you for why you acted like that towards me. Let's just pretend this never happened, alright?"

"Okay..." replied Storm, still rather unsure about the whole situation. Just then, High Wind did something that Storm wouldn't have expected him to do, especially after the way he's treated him; he knelt down in front of Storm and hugged him. Storm, at first slightly taken aback by the hug, moved backwards, but then hugged him as well. "I'm so, so sorry for treating you this way... I'm so sorry."

"Hey, hey..." said High Wind. "Like I said, it's alright."

"You sure?" asked Storm, still crying.

"Yeah, I'm sure..." replied High, smiling down at him. "Let's just forget this ever happened, and move on. What do you say?"

"I say, alright then..." replied Storm, turning to look up at High Wind, who was smiling at him. "Clean slate, I guess..."

A week later...

"So, guys... How did you enjoy our last day before spring break?" asked Singer, who was walking down the street with Stormfire and Violet after a long day at school. It felt good to finally be out of school for two weeks, but Storm felt differently. While Storm had mended his relationship with High Wind a week before, he was still nervous, nervous about the wedding, which was scheduled to happen next week, and nervous about High Wind becoming his dad.

"I enjoyed school today..." replied Violet. "What about you, Storm?"

"Huh?" asked Storm, snapping out of his thoughts.

"I asked if you enjoyed your school day, Storm." explained Violet.

"Oh, yeah..." replied Storm. "To be honest, I'm gonna miss this place."

"Yeah, us too..." replied Singer.

"Really?" asked Storm. "I thought you guys hate school."

"Well, I don't mind it!" replied Singer.

"Me neither." chimed in Violet. "What about you Storm? Do you like school?"

"It's not as bad as it seemed before..." explained Storm. Just then, as they were about to turn down the street, they bumped into somepony, or a group of someponies. Who were those someponies? It was Hurricane Force and two of his cronies.

"Hey, get the buck outta our way-where the buck did you come from?" asked Hurricane, looking at the group.

"Hey, it's our blank-flank friend!" chimed in Hurricane's friend, obviously talking about Storm, who hid behind Singer. "And he's a colt-cuddler too!"

"What's a colt-cuddler?" asked Storm, shivering slightly.

"You don't know?" asked Hurricane, struggling to contain his laughter. "Damn, you're stupid."

"Guys, leave him alone." said Singer. "What did Storm do to you?"

"He came to Equestria, that's what!" replied Hurricane's other friend. By now, Storm was struggling to contain his tears. He was used to being bullied by Hurricane and his friends, but it was still painful for him to go through the bullying. However he knew that until he got his cutie mark, he would be subject to relentless bullying by Hurricane.

"Please, leave Storm alone." pleaded Violet. "We'll go get your mom, Hurricane."

"Shut up Violet." barked Hurricane. "And go get her if you want! I don't bucking care. Why are you sticking up for your blank-flank friend anyways?"

"Because he's our friend, that's why." butted in Singer. "And don't you dare speak that way about Violet or Storm again."

"Ooh, look out, we got a bad-flank over here." said Hurricane, and he and his cronies begun laughing uncontrollably. "Both of you, buck off and let me deal with this gringo here."

"No, leave us all alone!" said Storm, cowering behind Singer.

"Take him, boys." commanded Hurricane. "Let's kick this rat's flank back home."

Suddenly, without any warning, the three ponies charged at Storm, pushing past Singer and Violet, and tackling Storm, bringing him down to the ground. Singer and Violet watched on in horror as their best friend was beaten mercilessly by the bullies.

"Augghh... leave me alone!" shouted Storm, before being bucked in the face by Hurricane. "Please..." he hissed in pain, before being pinned down and bucked in the stomach by one of the goons.

"We won't!" shouted the first goon.

"Go home, you Gryphon freak!" shouted the next one.

"You don't belong in Equestria, Stormfire!" shouted Hurricane, before delivering a devastating blow to Storm's abdomen.

Storm groaned and writhed in pain, having never felt so much pain being inflicted upon him before. He looked around to see if Singer and Violet were still there, but they weren't. Had they abandoned him completely? Had they just left him to die? Storm's thoughts were interrupted by another devastating buck to the abdomen, which almost cut off his breathing.

Just then, Hurricane, who was preparing to deliver another devastating blow to Storm, was stopped by a tap on his shoulders. He and his cronies turned around to face a rather angry-looking stallion, one who Storm knew very well. It was High Wind, who was brought there by Singer and Violet.

"Huh?" asked Hurricane. "Who the hay are you?"

"I'm somepony you'll regret ever meeting if you don't leave Storm alone." replied High Wind. "So leave him alone, now."

"Oh no, we're so scared." said Hurricane, in a sarcastic voice. "Buck off, old stallion."

"Tell me..." begun High Wind, smirking slightly. "Who are you goons more scared of? Me, or the Royal Guard?"

At the mere mention of the Royal Guard, the bullies calmed down and backed away in fear.

"Don't call the Guard please!" shouted one of the colts.

"Oh, I will." replied High Wind, looking at a nearby Pegasus Guard patrolling the street. "If you don't leave Storm alone."

"NO NO NO NO!" said the other colt. "We'll leave the blank flank alone! We promise!"

"Promise?" asked High Wind.

"We promise!" replied all three bullies in unison.

"Alright then." said High Wind. "Now scram before I change my mind, you sorry little bastards. And don't bother showing yourselves anywhere near us again or I'll personally kick all your flanks."

"Alrightbye!" they said, before darting off towards their homes and leaving High Wind and a battered Storm alone.

"I thought they were going to kill me..." said Storm, who despite being weak, managed to trot up to High Wind and nuzzle him. High Wind turned to look at him and gave him a reassuring smile, before returning to his serious expression.

"Who were they?" he asked. "Bullies?"

"Bullies." replied Storm, crying into High Wind's coat. "They've been bullying me ever since I joined the school."

"You know you could have told me or your mom about the bullying, right?" said High Wind, hugging Storm. "They would've left you alone months ago if you did tell us."

"I know, and I'm sorry." replied Storm. "I was worried that the bullying would get worse!"

"The best way to get rid of bullies is to tell an adult you trust." explained High Wind.

"I'm sorry for not telling you or mom..." replied Storm.

"Hey, it's okay. Next time you're being bullied just tell me or mom and we'll be there to stop the bullies." explained High.

"I know." replied Storm. "And thanks for sticking up for me like that... dad."

"No problem..." replied High. "You're safe with me... son... let's head home. Come on, jump on my back. We'll fly there, just you and me. What do you say?"

"I say, hay yeah!" said Storm, crawling onto High Wind's back.

"Hold on to my wings, alright?" asked High Wind. Storm did as he was asked, grabbing High's wings with his hooves, and a few moments later, High Wind took off with Storm on his back into the afternoon sky, towards home.


	7. Love at First Sight?

Two-and-a-half years later...

"Storm, sweetie! Wake up. It's time for school."

"Grr... mom, no!"

"**No** no's! It's Monday, and remember, you're starting high school today!"

"Ugh, fine..." Storm groaned and jumped out the bed, sending the bed sheets flying across his room. He then walked over to the window, and pulled the blinds aside, revealing the sun shining over the city of Cloudsdale and various neighboring Pegasi flying to work. He then turned to look at a small, digital alarm clock, showing the time, which was 7:46 AM. "Shit." he facehoofed, knowing that he had just over half an hour to get to school. He sighed, before going to the bathroom to wash himself, and after doing that, he made his way downstairs for breakfast.

"Hey guys..." he groaned as he walked into the kitchen, where he was greeted by Equinox, a graying High Wind, a sixteen year old Gust and a twelve-year old Mist.

"Hi son!" beamed Equinox.

"Hey sport." chimed in High Wind. "You ready for school or what?"

"Yeah, about that..." begun Storm. "...sweet Celestia, am I scared."

"Blank-flank chicken." spat Gust, causing Storm and everypony else gathered to glare at him. "What!?"

"Anyways..." said Equinox, trying to calm things down. "What's going on, son?"

"Also, your cereal is beside the refrigerator." said High, pointing to a bowl of chocolate cereal, Storm's favorite flavor. Storm trotted over to the refrigerator and picked up the bowl of cereal, before trotting back to the table and sitting down on a spare chair between Mist and Gust. After eating his cereal, Storm realized it was time for him to tell Equinox his worries.

"So, tell me..." begun Equinox, trying to break the ice. "Why are you so scared, son?"

"Well, it's because..." said Storm. "I don't know what High School is like, and I don't know if I'll do good or make any friends..."

"My guess is that you probably won't, you winged Earth pony." replied Gust Wind, glaring at Storm. "Who'd want to be your friend?"

"Gust, that's the last straw!" shouted Equinox, in a stern voice, causing him to calm down and back away.

"Jeez, mom." he growled. "I'll leave him alone."

"Anyways..." replied Equinox. "Son, you will do good, and you will make friends. I'm sure of it, and who wouldn't like somepony like you?"

Just then, Gust's hoof shot up, causing Equinox and High Wind to glare at him yet again.

"Mom's right." said High Wind. "I believe in you, son. You'll do great. I know it!"

"Thanks mom, dad." replied Storm, giving them a small smile.

"I believe in you too, big bro." said Mist, grinning at him.

"Thanks, Mist." he said, ruffling her mane, which made her giggle. "You're an incredible sister. And you two are incredible parents."

"No, you're an incredible son." said Equinox. "I couldn't have asked for a better son than you, Storm."

"Me neither." begun High Wind. "You both are incredible sons, but you need to learn to treat a younger sibling with respect, Gust."

"Damn it, dad. I'm gonna be late to school." groaned Gust, getting out of his seat and picking up his bag, before walking out of the kitchen.

"Thanks mom, dad..." replied Storm, tears forming in his eyes.

"No probs, son." said Equinox, smiling at him. "But you better be heading off to school now."

"Yeah, I guess so." he replied, putting the now-empty bowl of cereal into the dishwasher behind him, before getting out of his seat and saying goodbye to his parents.

"Bye guys." said Storm, putting on his saddlebag. "See you after school."

"Bye son!" both parents said in unison. And with that, Storm left the house and set off for school.

Around ten minutes later, Storm arrived at the high school and looked at the building in pure shock. It looked to be much bigger than his elementary and middle schools put together, and Storm could only imagine how big it must be inside. It's icy walls sparkled in the sunlight, while a small Equestrian flag fluttered on a pole on top of the school, but what really surprised him about the school was the students who poured into the entrance. There were hundreds of them, all from Cloudsdale and some of the communities surrounding the city, all waiting for school to begin. Storm's look of surprise soon turned into sadness, as he came to the conclusion that none of them would probably want to be his friend.

Just then, he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around to see who it was, and to his surprise, it was Singer and Violet. Over the years, they've grown and changed, but personality-wise, they hadn't changed much, especially Singer, who was just as much of a goofball then as when Storm first met him.

"Singer, Violet?" asked Storm, his sad face disappearing and being replaced with a grin.

"Hey Storm." said Singer.

"Hi!" said Violet, with a smile.

"Hey guys." replied Storm. "How was your summer?"

"It was great!" begun Singer. "I went to Baltimare with my dad for some important business trip."

"Sounds interesting." replied Storm, with a rather sarcastic tone in his voice. "What about you, Violet? Did you go anywhere?"

"Unfortunately not, Storm." she replied sadly. "We were supposed to go to Bitaly this year, but my dad had to replace somepony at the Weather Factory."

"That's a shame." replied Storm. He knew the feeling. The family were supposed to go to Mareami this year, but his mom and dad had to work on the week when they were supposed to be in Mareami to stop a large drought in north-central Equestria. "We were supposed to go to Mareami, but my parents had to go to work."

"That's a shame..." replied Violet. "Maybe you'll go somewhere for Hearth's Warming break or something."

"It's possible." mused Storm.

"Anyways, the school bell's about to ring." explained Singer. "What do you guys have first?"

"I have History with you!" replied Violet.

"I have..." begun Storm, taking out a piece of paper with his timetable printed on it and unfolding it. "Music."

"That's cool." replied Singer. "See you, Storm."

"Bye Storm." said Violet, following Singer to their class.

"Bye guys." replied Storm, walking into the school building.

As Storm had expected, the school was much bigger inside than it seemed outside. Storm wasn't watching where he was going (instead he was too busy looking at the various facilities the school had to offer, including a massive gym hall and a large swimming pool), when he bumped into somepony; a light-yellow mare with a green mane whom he had never seen before.

"Oops, I'm terribly sorry about that." he said, looking at her. _Wow... I wasn't expecting her to be so beautiful._

"It's okay." she smiled and got up. "I should watch where I'm going next time..."

"No, it's my fault. My name is Storm." he replied. "What's yours?"

"Summer Blossom." she replied, smiling at him. _What a pretty name..._ "By any chance, do you know where Mr... Twister Blast is?"

"I have him now." replied Storm, smiling back at her. "If you want, I could take you to the class."

"If that is no trouble with you." she replied.

"It's no trouble whatsoever, Summer." replied Storm.

"That's good." said Summer. Storm flashed her a quick smile, which she returned, before leading her down the somewhat empty hallway to the music department. A minute or two later, they reached the music classroom, where Twister Blast was teaching and sat down at their respective seats. As the day progressed, Storm found it increasingly hard to concentrate on his lessons, and instead preferred to focus on Summer Blossom, who usually ended up in his class. Was he actually falling for her? Maybe he was, maybe he wasn't. He didn't know, but he liked to sit and talk to her and found it pleasant conversing with her.

Eventually, the school day came to an end and everypony left for home, including Storm and Summer.

"Hey, thanks for helping me around the school." she begun.

"Heh." replied Storm. "No problem."

Just then, a light green Pegasus mare with a blue mane, slightly smaller than Summer in height, trotted up to her.

"Hey sis!" she begun. "How was your day? And who is this?"

"Hi Meadow." replied Summer. "It wasn't bad, oh, and this is my friend Storm."

"Nice to meet you." replied Storm, outstretching his hoof, which Meadow gladly shook.

"I have to go, Storm." replied Summer.

"Alright then. What do you say we meet here tomorrow before school, huh?" proposed Storm.

"Sounds like a plan." she beamed.

"Have a nice day." he said. "Bye."

A little while later, Storm returned home with a large smile on his face. He wasn't expecting his first day in high school to go so well, but most importantly, he wasn't expecting to meet the mare of his dreams. Just as he was about to enter the house, his smile faded away and was replaced by his serious face. What was he going to tell the family? What if they all laugh at him? A surge of nervousness overtook our hero as he walked into the house.

"Hey son." beamed Equinox, listening to a radio program in the living room.

"Hey mom." replied Storm, dropping his saddlebag beside the door. "Where's everypony?"

"Your dad's still at work, Mist's at her friends and Gust has band practice, so I guess it's just you and me, son." explained Equinox. "How was your day at school?"

"It was great!" replied Storm, rather nervously. "He he."

"It doesn't really sound like it was 'great' son." said Equinox. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah..." replied Storm, knowing that he couldn't lie to Equinox, especially about Summer. "Well, not really."

"What's wrong?"

"I'm not sure how you'd react to this..."

"Go on."

"Well, here goes nothing." begun Storm. "There's this mare at my school who I just met today, and already I feel really weird around her."

"What do you men by really "weird"?"

"Well, I feel all tingly and warm around her. It's a really nice feeling... and she looks really beautiful in my opinion." explained Storm, blushing slightly. A small, but still visible grin formed on Equinox's face. "What?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing." she replied innocently, before sighing sadly a moment or so late. "I always knew this day would come son. That one day, you'd find yourself that special mare and fall in love with her. You've grown up, my son. I'm so proud of you."

"I might be 14 and slightly taller than dad is..." begun Storm, also sighing. "But I still am and I'll always be your little colt forever."

"And I'll always be your mom, Storm." replied Equinox with a tearful smile on her face. "Come 'ere." she said, outstretching her hooves.

"Aww, mom." said Storm, hugging her tightly. "I love both you and dad."

"And we love all three of you, son, no matter what." replied Equinox, also hugging him. "You're an incredible colt."

The two stood there in the living room, embracing each other for about a minute or so.

"Listen, I'm a bit worried, mom." begun Storm. "I don't know whether I should start dating her... I mean, what if we don't like each other, or what if we have completely different tastes and nothing in common?"

"I agree." said Equinox. "Remember son, it's never a good idea to start a relationship too early. It's always best to start off being a friend and take things slowly."

"So, what should I do?" asked Storm.

"Just talk to her." begun Equinox. "Start talking to her, hanging out with her, share your interests, problems, future plans or goals."

"I guess so, mom." replied Storm, giving her a satisfied smile. "Thanks for the advice."

"No problem, sweetie." she said. "Hungry? I have hay fries in the oven."

"Hay fries? Hay yes!" replied Storm, causing both of them to chuckle.

The next day...

Storm walked down the path to the school (which was around ten blocks from his home), thinking about what his mom said last night about starting out as friends. He eventually managed to calm himself down as he neared the school building, but his nervousness returned to him when he noticed Summer and Meadow walking into the school building.

"Hi Storm!" said Summer, noticing him.

"Hi there." he smiled. "How are you both?"

"Great! I'm so excited for school." replied Summer. "What about you?"

"Sorta." said Storm, rather nervously.

"What's wrong?" asked Meadow. "You sound rather nervous."

"Well, it's nothing." he lied.

"You sure?"

"Absolutely."

"That's good." replied Meadow, giving him a friendly smile. "I better be heading to class now, and so should you two."

"Alright." said Storm, returning the smile and watching her trot off towards the school.

"Storm, you sure everything's alright?" asked Summer.

"Well, sorta." he replied, somewhat hesitantly.

"What's wrong?"

"Well, you see..." he begun. "I'm worried."

"About what?"

"About this school..." he replied. "Everything's so different here and there are so many new faces... I'm just not sure if I'll fit in."

"I'm sure you will, Storm." begun Summer, giving him a reassuring smile. "You're the first pony here that was actually nice to me."

"Really?" asked Storm. "Wow."

"Yep." replied Summer. "And thank you for that."

"No problem." smiled Storm. "I'm always happy to help. Listen, before we go to class, I just wanted to ask you something."

"Yeah?"

"Wanna be friends?" asked Storm, backing away slightly.

"Of course." replied Summer. "I'd love to be your friend."

The two stood there for a few moments, looking at each other and unsure what to say. Storm seemed especially captivated by her, coming to the conclusion that she looked more beautiful than she looked when he first met her. Just then, the bell rang, startling them both.

"Damn it..." begun Storm. "What do you have first?"

"Biology." she replied. "You?"

"Oh my gosh, I have the same thing!" exclaimed Storm.

"Really? Wow." replied Summer.

"Yeah wow, alright, enough chit-chat." begun Storm. "We better get to class."

"Yeah, I'll meet you there!" she smirked. "Last one to class is a rotten hay fry."

"Oh, you're on!" said Storm, before trotting through the school entrance. Summer didn't waste her time and trotted after him. The two friends reached the biology classroom on the other side of the school building in the science department (with Summer managing to beat Storm, much to his dismay), and the two sat down at their desks, ready to start another long day at school.

* * *

><p>Not long after, Storm and Summer started spending every day with each other, and they both begun to grow closer and closer. Storm himself felt like he was the happiest stallion in Equestria every time he was near her. After all, she was by far, the sweetest, most beautiful mare he had ever met in his life. He even begun to think about whether he should ask her out on a date, but then, remembered what his mom said about taking things slowly.<p>

It was lunch-time and the school canteen was just as busy as it was on any other school day. While Singer and Violet were sitting at a table with a young mare named Rainbow Dash (who Storm was a huge fan of after witnessing her win a cloud race), Storm and Summer sat at the table just opposite of them. The two were discussing Summer's life and why she came to Cloudsdale in the first place.

"Well, me and my family moved here from Baltimare because my dad wanted to expand his business to Cloudsdale." she explained. "That, and he thought it'd be better for us to have more open space. After all, Baltimare is a pretty big city."

"No kidding." replied Storm. "I've been there once; it's more crowded than Cloudsdale and Canterlot put together."

"Yep." she begun. "But still, I liked Baltimare, and I had lots of friends there, and I don't see why dad decided to move us way out here."

"It's not that bad here in Cloudsdale." replied Storm. "You get used to it, believe me. There's so much to do here, and I'm pretty sure you'll make friends here too."

"Maybe..." she mused, before noticing something; Meadow sitting at a table just across from them, with a colt of her own. The colt was a light blue Pegasus, with a dark-blue mane and a sun surrounded by some clouds for a cutie mark. "Hey..."

"What?" asked Storm, turning to look at them.

"I didn't know Meadow had a coltfriend." she giggled. "And I don't think my parents know as well."

"Wow." replied Storm. "Hey, I know him..."

"You do?" asked Summer.

"Yep." he replied. "I'm not friends with him or anything, but he's in a few of my lessons. I think his name is Blue Skye or something."

"Cool." begun Summer.

"Hey, listen, can I ask you something?" asked Storm.

"Sure-" replied Summer, but before she managed to listen to his question, she was tapped on the shoulder. She turned around to see who it was, and to her surprise, it was a black-furred Pegasus with a white mane, one which she had never seen before in her life. Storm, however, had seen and heard of the Pegasus before. His name was Thunder Clap, and he was one of the worst bullies he had ever come across in his life. Although Storm was never directly bullied by Thunder Clap, he had heard a lot of stories from colts and fillies who were unlucky enough to meet him; how he would pull their wings hard enough to almost rip them clean out of their sockets, how he would beat the living crap out of them for talking back to him or for standing up to him, or how he, along with some of his friends, would steal lunch money from helpless colts and threaten them with violence if they did not give him it. However, what scared him the most about Thunder Clap was that he was actually here in the first place; just before he left middle school in June, he had heard a lot of things about how Thunder Clap was supposed to move away back to Ponyville or wherever he came from, and so it unsettled him knowing that Thunder Clap didn't leave during the summer.

"Hi there, I'm Thunder Clap..." he said, rather innocently.

"Uh, hi. I'm Summer Blossom..." Summer replied, with an awkward tone in her voice. "May I ask, what do you want?"

"Oh, nothing nothing. I only think you look just as hot as your sister there." he replied, pointing to Meadow.

"...How do you know I'm her sister?" asked Summer, backing away towards the table.

"I see you two walking home from school almost every day." he replied smugly. "And nothing would make me happier than to see you become my marefriend, you gorgeous mare..."

"Gee, that's really nice of you calling me that, but no thank you." said Summer.

"What?" asked Thunder Clap, anger beginning to boil inside of him.

"You heard me."

"Nopony ever says 'no' to Thunder Clap!" he replied furiously. "And for that, I'm gonna make you pay..."

"Pfft. Please, what are you gonna do?" she scoffed.

"Exactly what I do to all my other victims." replied Thunder Clap, smiling smugly. "Beat the crap out of you."

Just then, Summer's expression changed from one of laughter to that of shock and terror, and with that, she backed away towards the table again. Storm had enough. Nopony was going to threaten his friend and get away with it. It was time for him to stand up to Thunder Clap, once and for all.

"Oh no, you won't." he said, tapping Thunder Clap on the back.

"Huh?" he asked, turning to face Storm. "Who the buck are you?"

"Your worst nightmare." replied Storm. "Now leave her alone or I will personally **destroy** you."

"Try me, you little bastard." he said. "Just try."

"Okay..." replied Storm, who begun to throw punches at Thunder Clap, all which did not apparently work. Instead, Thunder Clap looked down at Storm, a vicious and menacing smile forming on his face. Storm gulped, before being punched in the face and pushed down to the ground. The entire cafeteria came to a halt as everypony turned to look at Storm being beaten up by Thunder Clap, especially Summer, who appeared to be both angry and terrified at the same time.

"Leave me... the buck alone!" shouted Storm, trying to push Thunder Clap off him, but the bully continued to beat the living daylight out of him.

"NO! SHE'S MY MARE, NOT YOURS!" shouted Thunder Clap, delivering a devastating punch to Storm's face, nearly knocking him out.

"I never said I was your mare!" shouted Summer, trying to push Thunder Clap off Storm, but the brute pushed her away towards the next table. Storm noticed this and while Thunder Clap sneered at a rather disoriented Summer, he punched him in the head, knocking him off Storm.

"Leave me and Summer alone... please!" said Storm, rather weakly.

"No, you colt-cuddler." replied Thunder Clap, throwing himself at Storm.

"How the buck am I a colt-cuddlAAAH!" shouted Storm, being brought down yet again by Thunder Clap. This time, Thunder Clap begun to buck him repeatedly in the abdomen, nearly cutting off his breathing at one point. However, before he could do so, he was stopped by the principal.

"Take this-huh?" he asked, turning around to face the principal. "Mr. Principal, sir!"

"What is the meaning of this, Thunder Clap?" he asked, in a stern voice. "This is the second time a brawl like this in the cafeteria had happened this year."

"...second?" groaned Storm.

"Jeez, sorry..." he muttered under his breath.

"Get to my office now." he said. "I don't have time for your nonsense."

"Pfft." he spat, following the principal through the cafeteria towards his office. "Yes, sir."

"Youth these days..." the principal muttered. "Always getting into fights with their fellow classmates. Why, back in my day..."

"Back in your day, back in your day, yadda yadda, blah blah blah."

"That's it." begun the principal. "You're getting suspended for THREE weeks."

"Don't care."

"Do you not care about your education, Thunder Clap?"

"Nope."

"That's it." begun the principal. "If you don't care about your education, why even bother being here in the first place? In fact, I'm gonna expel you from the school."

"Whoop-de-doo. Big buckin' deal."

"And you all!" shouted the principal, turning back to face the students in the cafeteria. "Go back to whatever you were doing." And with that, the principal, followed by Thunder Clap, left the cafeteria, allowing the students to go back to whatever they were doing before the brawl broke out.

"Oh, my gosh Storm." begun Summer, trying to pull him up. "I'm sorry for that..."

"What are you sorry for? You didn't do anything." he replied, standing up straight and dusting himself off.

"Yeah, but it's my fault he attacked you." she explained in a sad voice.

"No, it's not." he comforted her. "Look, Summer. I couldn't watch him do that to you like that. I had to do something so that he left you alone. Look, I really care about you, and I don't want to see anypony treat you like that."

Without any warning, Summer gave Storm a peck on the cheek, catching him off-guard.

"Holy... shit..." he begun, looking around to see some of the students chuckling amongst each other, before turning to look at Summer, his blush growing redder every second.

"I guess you didn't expect that, huh?" she asked. "Well, anyways, thank you for sticking up for me."

"No problem..." he replied, smiling at her. "And it's not that I didn't expect it... I've just never been kissed before, in my life. Hey, Summer?"

"Yeah?"

"I'd like to ask you something."

"Go ahead, Storm."

"Would you... like to-to go, go out with me?"

"Go out with you, as in, like on a date?"

"Yeah, exactly..." he replied, expecting to be turned down.

"Are you kidding? Of course I would, Stormy." she replied, yet again catching him off-guard. "What do you want to go do?"

"I was thinking... seeing a film?" proposed Storm. "There's a few new movies just out in theaters right now... and I was wondering if you'd like to go see one at the weekend."

"Sure!" she replied, giving him another peck on the cheek.

* * *

><p>A few hours later, Storm came back home from school, and although he was beaten badly by Thunder Clap, he was still overjoyed. What was he so happy about, you may ask. Well, on that very day, he got himself a marefriend and he asked her out on their first date. As he walked down the pathway towards home, he begun whistling a happy tune and bobbing his head to the sound. Not watching where he was going, he bumped into Hurricane, who was walking back from the neighborhood store.<p>

"Hey, watch where the buck you're going-Well, well, well..." he sneered, looking at the state of Storm. "Look what the cat dragged in..."

"And a 'hello' to you too, Hurricane." said Storm, giving him a quick glare, before passing him by and continuing to walk down the road. Over the years they've known each other, Hurricane mellowed down quite a bit and eventually stopped harassing Storm and his friends, but still remained a rude and selfish jerk that almost nopony liked to hang around.

"What the hay happened to you?" asked Hurricane.

"What do you care?" asked Storm.

"Look who's being the asshole now, asshole." replied Hurricane. "So long, muchacho."

"Bye..." said Storm, turning to give him one last glare, before continuing his walk home. A moment or two later, he arrived at the cloud house and opened the door, before walking into it. "Hello?"

"Hey son." replied High Wind, walking down the stairs. "My gosh, what the hay happened to you?"

"It's a long story..." explained Storm. "Anyways, I have some great news!"

"We don't want to hear them, you stupid, flightless bird." said a voice from the living room, which obviously belonged to Gust.

"What is your problem, Gust?" groaned Storm. "Can't you just be nice to me for once?"

"No..."

"Gust Wind, leave your brother alone!"

"Mom, cut me some slack!" groaned Gust.

"Mind your manners, young stallion."

"Oh, boy..."

"Anyways, Storm sweetie, what's going on?"

"Yeah, what's going on?" asked Mist, also from the living room.

"You know how that pretty mare at school I talked to you about, mom?" he replied, rather awkwardly. "I asked her out on a date."

Just then, almost everypony's (except Gust's) jaws dropped and Storm mentally facehoofed himself.

"You only told mom about your secret crush?" asked High Wind. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want everypony making a fuss of it." replied Storm.

"I wouldn't make a fuss of it, son..." he replied, a warm smile forming on his face. "I'm just really proud that my son got himself a marefriend. What's her name?"

"Her name is Summer Blossom." replied Storm.

"I'm sure she's a very nice filly." said Equinox from the kitchen.

"Oh, yes." chuckled Storm. "She is, alright."

"Storm and whatever-her-name-is, sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" said Mist.

"Mist... please." replied Storm, rolling his eyes.

"Wow, my brother has a marefriend..." replied Gust Wind. "Wait, should I even call a flightless chicken my brother?"

"Gust, that's the last straw! Go up to your room right now and don't come out till lunch is ready!"

"Jeez, fine." he replied, and walked out of the living room, not turning to look at Storm or High Wind as he walked up the stairs.

"Anyways..." replied Equinox, who walked out of the kitchen with a warm smile forming on her face. "When are you two going out, sweetie?"

"Saturday." replied Storm. "We're going to catch a movie at the theater."

"That's great, son." replied Equinox, some tears rolling out of her eyes. "I'm so proud of you."

"Thanks mom." he smiled. "Although I still don't know whether it'll work out between us."

"It'll definitely work out." replied High. "Just try your best, son. Alright?"

"Alright."

* * *

><p>That Saturday night...<p>

It was evening in Cloudsdale. While his family was listening to a radio program downstairs, Storm was busy preparing himself for his first date with his marefriend, Summer Blossom. He combed his mane from it's usual, messy style to a more refined and nicer-looking style, and put on a t-shirt of the film they were going to see, _A Mareami Heist_, which was a new action movie that came out to theaters a few days ago. Despite being highly nervous about the date, he tried his hardest to stay calm about it. A little while later, after getting ready, he made his way downstairs, and looked into the living room to see his family gathered around the radio, and to get their attention, he tapped the door to the living room gently.

"Well, well, well." begun High. "Look at you."

"Hey dad." replied Storm.

"Wow, you've... you've grown so much, Storm." begun Equinox, getting up out of her chair and walking over to Stormfire. "I remember when you were crawling around our house in diapers like it was just yesterday... and look at you now. You're fourteen, you're in high school, and you're going on your first date with the mare of your dreams. Sweet Celestia, how time flies. You're growing up, sweetie. I'm so proud of you."

"Thanks mom..." replied Storm, embracing her.

"No problem, sweetie." she said. "Now, I believe you have a date to go on."

"Yep. The movie starts in about an hour and the theater's downtown." replied Storm. "And I still have to pick up Summer..."

"Alright, then you better be heading off now, son." said High Wind. "Have a great date."

"Thanks, dad." replied Storm. "I better go now."

"Alright, son." begun Equinox. "Have fun, and be safe!"

"Okay, I will." replied Storm, opening the door and stepping out into the street. After saying goodbye to his family, Storm made his way through the slowly darkening city streets towards Summer's address, which she had written down on a piece of paper and given to Storm. A few minutes later, he arrived at Summer's house, which was one of the nicer homes in North Cloudsdale, quite similar to what Storm's house looked like. Quite reluctantly, he walked up the path to her house and tapped the door with his hoof, waiting patiently for somepony to open it.

A moment or two later, a white-blue mare with a purple mane, with a gust of icy wind as her cutie mark opened the door.

"Why hello there." she said. "Who may you be, young stallion?"

"Hello, ma'am." replied Storm, before bowing respectfully. "I'm here to pick up Summer."

"Are you her coltfriend?" asked the mare. "She never told me she has one. Summer!"

"Yes mom?"

"There's a colt waiting for you outside the front door!" she shouted. "Oh, pardon me. I never introduced myself. My name is Icy Breeze and I am Summer's mother."

"My name is Stormfire, but please, call me Storm, ma'am." explained Storm.

"You're such a well-mannered stallion." said Icy. "I have a feeling you'll be as great of a coltfriend to Summer as Blue is to my slightly younger daughter, Meadow. Do you wish to come in?"

"If that's alright with you."

"Why certainly." Icy explained, letting Stormfire into the house. A few moments later, Summer made her way downstairs. Storm's jaw dropped as he watched her walk down the stairs. She was wearing a long, red dress and had her mane done up in a bun. In Storm's eyes, she looked absolutely amazing.

"Mom, I told you a thousand times; it's just a date." groaned Summer. "I don't have to wear your old prom dress from Celestia-knows-when to the theaters... Oh, hey Stormy."

"Oh, hush now dear." Icy said. "You look wonderful."

"I agree." replied Storm, not taking his eyes off her. "You look beautiful."

"Thank you, Stormy." she said. "And I must say, you look rather handsome."

"Thank you." he replied. "So, shall we be off then? I don't want to miss the film."

"Yes, we shall." she replied, grabbing a hold of his hoof. "See you later, mom. We'll be back at 9 or 10."

"Alright, have fun you two!" she said as she watched them walk out of the house and walk towards the downtown area of the city. "And Storm, remember. Look after my little filly, alright?"

"Yes ma'am!" he replied.

"Okay, have fun!" she said, waving to them.

Around ten minutes later, they made it through to the movie theater, which lay a few miles east of the downtown area, still in North Cloudsdale; a somewhat small building made of water ice, with a large billboard on the roof which displayed the theater's name in big, bald lettering and several movie posters on the walls. After purchasing two tickets for "A Miami Heist", the two sat down in their seats and waited for the movie to begin.

* * *

><p>After leaving the movie theater, Storm and Summer begun to discuss the movie.<p>

"Well, I sorta enjoyed it..." begun Storm. "It wasn't deep or involving in any way whatsoever, but it worked as a mindless action flick, and I enjoy those greatly."

"You call that 'action'?" asked Summer. "My dog can make better VFX than that. And that carriage chase through the streets of Mareami? That was the most unrealistic thing I have ever seen in a movie. They at least could have used stuntponies and real carriages to shoot that scene."

"Yeah, I do admit... the CGI was pretty bad at times, but at least it was fairly entertaining, right?" asked Storm, wrapping his wing around Summer.

"Sorta." replied Summer, nuzzling against him. "At least I got to spend the evening with my coltfriend."

"Yep. And I got to spend it with you." he said, kissing her on the cheek as they walked back home from the theater. It took them fifteen minutes to get back to her house, however, just as they were about to turn into an alleyway and head down the street leading to Summer's house, they were stopped by somepony. Somepony who they both recognized very well...

"Summer Blossom, there you are." said the voice. "Where the buck where you? And who the buck is this? Stormfire? Oh, my gosh, please don't tell me you're going out with him now, are you?"

"Uh-um." Summer begun, shaking slightly in fear.

"Who is this?" asked Storm. "Show yourself!"

"You know who it is very well, you douche." said the voice, in a rather threatening manner. "Leave my mare alone or you're going to suffer."

"Where the buck are you?" shouted Storm. "Show yourself right now or I'm calling the Guard."

"Stormy, he's not worth it." pleaded Summer.

"You better know he's not worth it." said the voice, and it's source jumped into the light of a nearby lamppost. To Storm's surprise, the source of the voice was in fact, Hurricane.

"Hurricane?" asked Storm, backing away slightly.

"Yeah, that's me." he replied. "What are you doing with my mare?"

"Your mare?" asked Storm, anger beginning to boil inside of him. "Well, excuse me, but last time I checked, she was my marefriend."

"Nope, you blind idiot." replied Hurricane. "She's my mare."

"Guys, break it up, please..." begun Summer, letting go of Storm's hoof and backing away towards a cloud wall behind her.

"She's my marefriend." replied Storm, rather sternly. "Now back off and leave us alone."

"Summer, are you with this asswipe now?" begun Hurricane, looking at her in a threatening manner. "What does he have that I don't, huh? Tell me." Summer then teared up, looking at the bickering stallions in front of her, before sighing sadly and trotting up to Hurricane.

"I'm with you."

"...What?" asked Storm, his pupils shrinking to the size of pinpricks.

"Look, Storm." begun Summer. "You're a nice guy and all, but you're just not the right guy for me. I love Hurricane."

"I'm not?" asked Storm, backing away slightly. "Why did you-why did you agree to go out with me then?"

"She didn't." replied Hurricane. "You took her from ME! YOU STOLE HER!"

"You're... crazy, dude." stuttered Storm. "Really... bucking crazy."

"Oh, yes." replied Hurricane, smirking slightly. "And I'm gonna get even crazier if you don't leave this alleyway in ten seconds."

"But Summer..."

"No buts!" shouted Hurricane, causing Summer to move back slightly in fear. "10, 9, 8, 7, 6..."

"Alright!" shouted Storm, close to crying, before trotting out of the alleyway towards the downtown area, leaving Hurricane and Summer alone.

"Hurricane, can you take me home?" asked Summer, cuddling against him and obviously happy that Storm was gone.

"Right away, babe." he replied, wrapping his wing around her and flying off with her into the night towards her home. Meanwhile, Storm made his way home, his heart broken into thousands upon thousands of tiny pieces. Around twenty minutes later, he returned home and collapsed onto the couch, before crying into the pillows.

"What did I do wrong?" said Storm, crying his eyes out into the now-drenched pillow. "What did I do to deserve this?"

"Deserve what, sport?" asked High Wind, sitting down beside him. "Did the date go well?" Storm shook his head in reply, still crying into the pillow. "What happened?"

"She dumped me, dad..." he replied in a depressed voice.

"Oh..." replied High. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be... It's not your fault. I wasn't right for her anyways."

"Son, remember..." begun High. "There's plenty more fish in the sea. I'm sure you'll find a mare that you like and who likes you back and will stand by your side no matter what."

"That's bullcrap."

"Not necessarily." said High, caressing his mane with his hoof. "Maybe one day, you'll find the perfect one. I know I have found her."

"I don't know... Maybe I will, maybe I won't."

"I'm sure you will, son." explained High.

"I doubt that... I'm sure that if I ever get another marefriend, she'll trick me and dump me like Summer did."

"Mares can be surprising, son." begun High. "Maybe the perfect mare is just around the corner, just waiting for you to meet her."


	8. Flying Follies

A year later...

It was a beautiful mid-June morning in Cloudsdale. Storm, and most of the other kids in the city were off on their summer break until mid-August, which gave them two months to do whatever they pleased. Right now, while the family was downstairs eating breakfast, Storm was slumbering in his bed.

Meanwhile downstairs, the family had finished eating their breakfast and were busy listening to the morning news and weather report on the radio. Just then, the doorbell sounded, startling everypony in the room.

"I'll get it..." groaned a now 17-year old Gust, who got off the couch, went up to the front door and opened it, revealing a tan Pegasus mailmare, who was slightly shorter, but somewhat more buff than Equinox was. The mare was shaking uncontrollably and was struggling to look away from Gust. "Yes?"

"Does a Mrs. Equinox Moon live here?" the mare asked.

"Mom!" shouted Gust, turning away from the mare. "You have mail!"

"Alright!"

"She'll be here in a sec." said Gust. "Stick around."

"Alright, sir." the mare replied, shaking slightly. "Sorry if I seem awkward; it's my first day on the job."

"That's understandable." nodded Gust. "I think you're doing good."

"Thank you sir." she replied, giving him a small smile, which he gladly returned.

Just then, Equinox arrived at the door and Gust left upstairs to wake up Storm.

"Here you go, ma'am." begun the mailmare, passing her the letters.

"Thank you!" Equinox beamed, before noticing the mare shivering. "Are you cold or something, ma'am?"

"No, no." the mailmare replied. "This is my first day on the job, so I'm just pretty nervous."

"Ah, I understand." said Equinox. "You know, I was like you when I first joined the Weather Team, but then, I realized that if I try my hardest, I'm going to succeed. And from what I can see, you're trying pretty hard."

"Thank you, ma'am." the mailmare smiled. Equinox always had a way with words. Whenever somepony needed her advice, no matter if it was a family member, a close friend or even a stranger, she was always happy to help.

"No problem." she smiled. "Have a good day at work."

"You have a good day as well, ma'am." the mailmare replied, a smile forming on her face. "Goodbye!" she said, waving to Equinox, who waved back, before going to the next house down the road. Equinox closed the door and went to the kitchen. She put down the envelopes on the kitchen table and begun to open them all up, one by one.

"Hey honey..." said High, who was washing the dishes. "What did we get in the mail today?"

"Just a few bills and the kids' school grades." replied Equinox.

Just then, Mist and Storm came into the kitchen.

"Hey mom." said Mist, sitting down beside her. "Ooh, what's this?"

"Your school grades, sweetie." replied Equinox. "Hi Storm."

"Hey mom." replied Storm, rubbing his eyes slightly, before outstretching his hooves. "That damn storm kept me awake all night... What's the weather supposed to be like today, dad?"

"Well, I am happy to say..." begun High Wind, a smile forming on his face. "That we won't be getting any more storms for the next week or so."

"That's good to hear..." Storm replied, also sitting down beside Mist and Equinox. "Finally, I'll get a good night's sleep. Oh, and what's this?"

"Your school grades." replied Equinox. "We'll open them all up after you finish breakfast, alright?"

"Alright..." replied Storm, before making himself some chocolate cereal for breakfast.

After eating his breakfast, Storm made his way to the living room and sat down on the couch beside Equinox, Mist and Gust Wind.

"Alright, everypony here?" asked Equinox. "Alright, let's see your grades, kids. Okay then, first up, we have Storm's grade..."

"Why me?" asked Storm, a sheepish grin forming on his face. "Why not Gust or Mist?"

"Because you're the only colt in our family who still doesn't have his cutie mark." replied Gust. "I mean, look at Mist. She's two years younger than you are and she already has her mark."

Storm's grin slowly turned into a sad glare. He sighed sadly, before turning to look at Mist's cutie mark which she had just got a few weeks ago at a weather pony event; a sun covered by a thick layer of mist. Mist had just turned thirteen, and already she had her cutie mark, unlike Storm, who was fifteen and not even close to getting his.

"Shut up, Gust..." he growled under his breath. "Just shut up."

"Why don't you make me, blank-flank?" Gust sneered.

"Boys, boys!" said Equinox, staring at both of them with a stern look on her face. "Calm yourselves."

"Alright mom..." said Gust.

"Sorry." said Storm.

"Storm, just because you don't have your cutie mark yet doesn't mean anything bad..." explained Equinox.

"I appreciate your help, mom, but I just don't feel like this is normal..."

"You bet your flank it ain't normal!" shouted Gust.

"Gust, I've just about had it with your behavior!" yelled Equinox. "Quit pestering Storm, alright?!"

"Yes mommy."

"Good." said Equinox, calming down noticeably after her little outburst. "Anyways, look Storm... I could have told you before, but I didn't... I waited until I was sixteen for my cutie mark, and I got bullied relentlessly for most of my school days."

"Yeah, same..." groaned Storm, thinking about Hurricane and his friends, who usually bullied him relentlessly, especially Hurricane, who pestered him the most after what happened between him, Storm and Summer. "Nopony leaves me alone..."

"Hasn't your dad dealt with them before?" asked Equinox.

"Yes, but this time it's different..." replied Storm.

"I see..." she begun. "In fact, I'll talk to their mothers about it and they'll talk some sense into those delinquents."

"You sure that'll work?"

"Trust me; I'm your mom and I know what's best for my children." she replied, giving them all a friendly smile. "And if one of my children needs my help, I'll always be there for them."

"Thanks mom." replied Storm, hugging her tightly.

"No problem, son." she replied, hugging him back. "Me and dad will always be there for all of you, whenever you need us. Come 'ere, both of you." she said, outstretching her hooves so that Mist and Gust join in the hug. "There's room for all three of you."

"Alright then." smiled Mist, hugging Equinox.

"Okay." grinned Gust, also joining into the hug. After the hug was done, they all sat down on the sofa.

"So, anyways..." begun Equinox. "Storm, you shouldn't worry about not having a cutie mark. You're still the best son I could ever ask for; you're clever, you're talented, you're just a great kid..."

"What about me?" asked Gust.

"Oh..." replied Equinox, a small smile forming on her face. "How could I forget about you, Gust? Both of you are the best sons I could ever have asked for."

"Thanks mom." both of them replied in unison.

"And you Mist, are the best daughter I could ever ask for." smiled Equinox, before ruffling Mist's mane.

"Thank you, mom." replied Mist. "You're the best mom ever."

"Thank you, Mist..." begun Equinox, before continuing with her cutie mark talk. "And Storm, your cutie mark will come when the time is right, and when it does, I'm sure it'll be as unique as you are. So, don't be afraid to be a blank-flank. Like I said, your cutie mark will come when the time is right."

"I sure hope so, mom." Storm cracked an optimistic smile. "Anyways, let's see our grades."

"Right then." replied Equinox, opening the envelope containing Storm's grade and unfolding the grade paper. "Let's see... For Math, you got straight A's... wow. I'm really proud of you, son."

"Thanks mom." blushed Storm.

"I won't be surprised if your cutie mark ends up being math-related." explained Mist.

"You think so?" asked Storm.

"Maybe..." she mused.

"For English, straight A's..." continued Equinox. "For Physics you have B's. Again, not bad. For Chemistry, A's. For Biology, B's. History is straight A's, social studies is again, straight A's. For Phys Ed, mostly E's..."

_"Oh boy..."_ Storm thought to himself, gulping.

"Let's read this..." begun Equinox, with a concerned look on her face.

_Stormfire is not one of our best students when it comes to physical education. Although he tries hard, his flying skills are below average and he frequently ends up crashing into things, especially on our obstacle courses. However, with some considerable difficulty, and with the help of some friends, he had managed to get to the finish line several times before._

_We understand that he is not from the country and that he doesn't understand the basics of flight very well, but we do want what's best for our students, and so we request that you enroll him in a flight training program over the summer break._

"So, I'm pretty bad, aren't I?" asked Storm.

"Yes..." replied Gust.

"Zip it, Gust." said Equinox in her sternest voice, causing him to cower behind the sofa. "No, Storm... Listen, I was going to teach you how to fly back in the Gryphon lands, but unfortunately, due to my wing injury, I couldn't... and I still can't. If I do teach you how to fly, the wing might come completely off. Don't blame yourself, blame me. I'm sorry I couldn't teach you how to fly."

"No, mom. It's okay..." said Storm, putting his hoof around her. "It's not your fault... Accidents happen."

"Yeah, well, if it wasn't for this "accident", you'd be flying by now." she replied coldly. "I'm a horrible mother."

"What? No. You're the best mother ever." replied Gust. "And your wing injury doesn't change that."

"I agree." said Storm. "Don't put yourself down like this."

"Yeah." begun Mist. "You're amazing, mom."

"Thanks kids..." she replied. "You're all incredible kids."

After a few minutes of crying, Equinox calmed down noticeably.

"So, what could I do to learn how to fly, mom?" asked Storm.

"Hm..." she begun, trying to think of a good flight teacher for Storm. "Ah. I know who'd be able to help you."

"You do?" asked Storm, his ears perking up.

"Yep." smiled Equinox. "My two friends from the Weather Factory; Solar Blast and Star Night. They started doing this flight school thing a few months ago, but unfortunately, almost nopony wants to get enrolled, so I think it'd be a good idea that we enroll you."

"You think it's a good idea?" asked Storm. "I mean, I'm pretty bad."

"You're not, you just need to control yourself during flight." replied Equinox. "Personally, I think you're great, sweetie."

"Thanks mom."

"No problem." she smiled. "And I think it'd be a great idea for you to get involved."

Three months ago

"Alright, you no-good winged earth ponies..." begun a rather intimidating voice, which belonged to the high school's flying coach, a buff, light-brown stallion who looked like he just stepped off the set of an action film. The young stallions and mares present immediately stopped messing around and turned to face the coach, all of them standing as still as military ponies. "Is everypony here? This is going to be fun..."

The colts and fillies nodded in reply, all equally intimidated by the coach's gruff and no-nonsense demeanor. "That's good." he replied. "Very good."

"Sorry I'm late!" shouted Storm, trotting out of the school building to where the class was. The colts and fillies gathered (including Hurricane, Summer and their friends) all chuckled among themselves, while the coach facehoofed himself.

"Get over here, you smartass." said the coach. "There'll be no latecomers to my lessons, ya understand?"

"Yes sir..."

"What's that? I didn't hear you, Stormfire."

"YES SIR!"

"Good. Alright then, for being late to class today, you're starting our first flying race."

"Flying race?"

"Yes, you wimp!" said the coach, with a rather angry tone in his voice. "You're going first in our flying race."

Storm gulped before looking around to see most of the students in the class laughing at him (excluding Singer and Violet, who just watched from behind the coach). What was this talk about a flying race anyways? He wasn't told the last time he had phys ed that they were doing a flying race, and it unnerved him just looking at the obstacle course which they were going to be flying through. He couldn't even fly properly, for Celestia's sake! The obstacle course itself was massive. It stretched from the cloud field where they were standing on to the hoofball field on the other side of the school campus and it amazed him that something as big as that could be afforded by the Cloudsdale school district.

"So, ya gonna keep looking at the course or are you going to start?" asked the coach. Storm immediately turned around and looked at the class, who were all chuckling at Storm.

"Yes, I'm gonna start." replied Storm. "Sorry sir."

"Get over there." barked the coach. "I want to see how good you are at flying."

"Yes sir..." replied Storm, rather nervously, before trotting up to the obstacle course and getting a better look at it. "This is a bit... big, don't you think? He he."

"What's the matter, Stormy?" asked Hurricane in a mocking voice. "Too chicken to fly?"

The vast majority of the class chuckled at Hurricane's statement, while Storm gave him a disapproving glare. This was now personal. Nopony was going to mock him anymore. He needed to do this race.

"Alright then." said Storm. "I'm gonna do this."

"Okay then." replied the coach. "Class, get into your starting positions."

The class did as the coach told them to, all of them lining up in rows of three. Storm was lined up at the very start, with two Pegasus colts and one filly behind him, the filly's name being Rainbow Dash.

Storm looked over the edge of the obstacle course and begun to shake like a foal's rattle. There was a fifty-foot long gap in the clouds, which extended to the very bottom of the cloud bank on which Cloudsdale was built on. Beyond that gap were several pillars made of water ice, and after that, there were several large boxing gloves seemingly coming out of nowhere. And that wasn't all! There were also large balls floating above the clouds, which he presumed they had to fly between. Storm gulped as he looked at the obstacle course. As much as he was afraid of doing the practice race, he still knew he had to win it.

"Alright, you wimps!" shouted the coach, getting the attention of almost all of the kids. "This will be your first practice race this year, and you will get one practice race each month until summer break. Understood?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Alright." said the coach. "You will fly over this gap, between the Moving Pillars of Terror, through the Gauntlet of Terror, and the Floating Rubber Balls of Terror. Yes, there will be a lot of terror in this course, and don't worry, it'll only get more and more terrifying. Anyways, on your marks..."

"Get set."

"Go!"

Without any hesitation, the colts and fillies took off through the obstacle course. Storm flew over the gap, somewhat poorly compared to the other colts and fillies, but was still in first place. He turned around to see around fifteen other colts and fillies flying directly behind him, before turning back to face the obstacle course. The class all flew between the first three pillars, with Storm still in the lead much to his surprise. Just then, while Storm wasn't looking, somepony managed to catch up to him, and that somepony was Hurricane.

"Hey Storm!" he shouted.

"Huh?" asked Storm, turning to face him. Just then, Hurricane slammed into Storm, knocking him off-course and sending him spinning out of control into one of the ice pillars.

"Sayonara!" shouted Hurricane, now in first place. Storm groaned and slowly got up from where he landed, before turning to look at the swarm of Pegasus ponies flying between the next few pillars, towards the next stage of the practice race. He then turned back to face the coach, who was motioning for him to join the rest of them in a frantic manner. Storm groaned and dusted himself off, before taking off in a jerky manner and joining the rest of them. After struggling to get through the group of Pegasi, he managed to get into second place, right behind Hurricane.

"Hey Hurricane!" shouted Storm from behind him.

"Huh?" asked Hurricane, before turning around to notice Storm flying right behind him. "Oh, hay no!" Hurricane, without any warning, flew right into Storm, knocking him off-course again and causing him to crash-land onto a cloud.

"Gah..." groaned Storm, trying to pull himself up and get off the cloud. Once again, he ended up in the last place, and watched the other foals fly through the rest of the course. He groaned and pulled himself up before turning to look at the coach, who watched him with disapproving eyes. "Well, I guess third time's the charm..." said Storm, before beginning to flap his wings and trotting down the cloud. Although he managed to get himself off the cloud and fly between the ice pillars, he was still far from the rest of the group, who were at least a few hundred feet away from him. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew in between the pillars and into Storm, knocking him yet again off-course, but he continued to fly. He flew back into the obstacle course and grinned, thinking that he was in the lead, but crashed into a large rubber ball. He bounced off the ball and landed on the cloud between the Balls of Terror and the end of the Gauntlet, disorientated, but before he could continue on with the course, the others had already passed him. A few moments later, the coach landed in front of him and groaned.

"Yes... sir?" asked Storm.

"Look. I know that you find flight hard, and I understand that." he begun. "But if you want to be good at phys ed, then I'd suggest you stop messing around and learn something useful for once."

"I understand, sir." replied Storm.

"Go and sit down at the bench." the coach said, pointing at the bench, which was way back at the start of the obstacle course. "Oh, wait. You can't fly... How are you supposed to get to the bench, huh?"

"Mr Coach, sir." begun a rather brash female voice, which belonged to a voice that they both recognized; Rainbow Dash. "Don't you think that Storm is already tired enough?"

"Miss Rainbow Dash..." replied the coach, sighing. "I appreciate your concern-"

"Can I take him to the bench?" she asked.

"Go ahead." replied the coach, before turning to look at Storm. "Get up, alright?"

"Yes sir..." replied Storm, slowly getting off the cloud and dusting himself off.

"Alright, I'm going to go to the others..." the coach said. "When you're done, I expect you to be back, Miss Rainbow Dash, or that'll be twenty-five press-ups."

"Yeah, yeah." she groaned. "I'll be back before you know it coachy."

"Don't you dare call me that..." the coach growled. "Or that'll be fifty press-ups. Alright, get going!"

"Okay." she said, wrapping her wing around Storm and taking off with him back to the start of the obstacle course. After they landed, she led him to the bench and sat down beside him. "You alright?"

"Huh?" he asked.

"I asked if you were alright." she replied. "I'm Rainbow Dash. You?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. My name is Stormfire, but you can call me Storm..." he replied.

"So, you can't fly very well, huh?" she asked. Storm only nodded in reply.

"Can you teach me how?" asked Storm.

"Sorry, dude." she replied. "I don't take teaching requests."

"You're like my idol." he said.

"I am?" she gasped.

"Yep." he replied. "I've been a huge fan of yours ever since I saw you win a race back in Elementary School."

"Really?" she grinned. "Why didn't you tell me before?"

"I was too scared, I guess..." he replied, scratching his mane. "Tell me, was I bad?"

"Well, you were not that good..." she said. Storm sighed sadly. "But that doesn't mean you aren't bad. Listen, in my opinion, every Pegasus pony can fly. They just need to try their best, and that's what I'm asking of you, alright? Just try your best. Try your best and it'll all go great."

"You sure?" he asked, his grin returning to his face.

"Absolutely." she replied.

The present day...

A week after the school grades arrived and Storm found out his phys ed results, Storm and Equinox left home for the flight training program where he was to be enrolled in. The 'flight training school' was located in a home with a massive backyard, on the west side of the city. The house was located very close to the airport and was one of the nicer homes in the city.

Storm and Equinox walked up to the front door of the house, and while Equinox rang the doorbell, Storm nervously paced up and down the path to the house. What if he fails the flying lessons from day one? As much as Storm was afraid of the flying lessons, he was determined to learn how to fly. After all, he didn't want to be considered some 'winged earth pony' who somehow made his way up into Cloudsdale.

A moment or so later, the door opened, revealing a tall, blue-purple mare with a white-yellow mane, who Storm presumed was Star Nights. "Hey Equinox!" she waved. "What brings you here today?"

"Hey Star." she said. "This is my second oldest son, Stormfire."

Storm walked up to the mare and shook her hoof. "Nice to meet you, ma'am."

"Nice to meet you too, Stormfire." she explained, smiling at him, before moving slightly to the right, to reveal a smaller mare (who looked to be of Storm's age) of the same color, the only difference being her mane, which was blue-purple. Her cutie mark was of a blue crescent moon. "This is my daughter, Blue Night."

"Nice to meet you." he said rather nervously, outstretching his hoof, which she shook. "I'm Stormfire, but you can call me Storm."

"Hi, my name's Blue Night." she replied, giving him a friendly smile. "Are you from around these parts? I've never seen you at my school before."

"No, I'm from the north of the city." he replied.

"Ah, that's cool." she smiled. "That's where the Cloudsdale Arena is, right?"

"Yep." he replied. "Do you go there?"

"Yep, every once in a while." Blue replied.

"What do you go watch?" Storm asked.

"I usually go to see the Wonderbolts live, however if the arena hosts concerts, then I sometimes go with my friends." she explained. "What about you, Storm?"

"I go to watch the Wonderbolts." smiled Storm.

"I'm thinking you two will be the best of friends..." replied Star. "Come on in and have a seat."

A moment or two later, Equinox and Stormfire (who could not stop looking at Blue Night) went to the living room and sat down at the table. While Equinox and Star were talking what they did lately, Storm kept staring at Blue. To him she looked absolutely gorgeous, however, he didn't keep that thought in his head for long after remembering what Summer did to him. After Summer dumped him, Storm stopped trusting mares and fillies (except his mom and Mist), fearing that if he ever fell in love with a mare, she'd treat him the same way Summer did. However, something about this mare was different from all the rest of the mares he had ever talked to. She seemed nice and friendly (unlike Summer), and pretty talkative. And boy was she pretty. In fact, in Storm's eyes, no mare was prettier than Blue was, not even Summer. However, he tried to keep the thoughts of him talking to her, becoming her friend and eventually asking her out at bay, that is, for now.

"So, you want to enroll Storm in our flight training program?" asked Star.

"Yes, I do." replied Equinox. "I figured he needs the exercise and the skill."

"Storm." Star begun, snapping Storm out of his daydreams.

"Yes, ma'am?" he asked.

"No need to call me ma'am." Star smiled. "Just call me Star, alright?"

"Yeah, okay." he replied.

"So, you want to learn to fly, huh?" she asked. "Well, you've come to the right place. Here, we'll teach you how to fly like a pro, and since your mom is a close friend of mine, your lessons will be free of charge."

"Really?" he asked. "That's cool."

"Yep. If you come here every weekend from now up until August, we'll get you flying like a professional flyer by the end of the summer break." replied Star. "So, do you want to join?"

"Oh, yes I do." he grinned. "I'd love nothing more than to learn how to fly."

"Great. You start on Saturday."


	9. Weathering the Storm

That Saturday morning...

After eating breakfast and saying 'goodbye' to his family for a couple of hours, Storm left home and made his way to the west side of Cloudsdale, where his flying lessons were going to be held. His nervousness grew as he neared Star Nights' and Solar Blast's home; as much as he wanted to learn how to fly and try to fit in with his peers, he was worried whether he was going to do good or not, but Storm knew he had to learn to fly in order to make it in Cloudsdale and fit in society. He just had to. Another thing he was hoping to do was to befriend Blue and try to impress her with his flight skills. He had developed quite a crush on her ever since he first met her, but he was nervous, nervous about whether she was going to like him or not.

Fifteen minutes later, he arrived at the house, and after a few minutes of nervously pacing up and down the pathway leading to their front door, he finally gained the courage to knock on it. To his surprise, it wasn't either Star Nights or Solar Blast, but it was Blue.

"Hi..." she begun. "Storm, is it?"

"Hey there." he said. "I'm here for the flight lessons. Uhm, are your parents home?"

"Yep." she grinned. "They're just in the kitchen. MOM, DAD!"

"Yeah sweetie?"

"Stormfire's at the door!" she shouted.

"Come on in!"

Storm did as he was asked to and stepped inside the house. It seemed much bigger than it was the last time he went, but maybe that was because Equinox wasn't with him this time.

"Hi Storm!" begun Star. "How are you doing?"

"I'm doing well, ma'am." he replied.

"Are you ready for some flight lessons?" asked Solar Blast.

"I sure am!" he grinned.

"Wonderful!" smiled Star, before walking out of the back door into the backyard. "We're waiting for you outside, alright?"

"Sure thing." replied Storm. Just then, Blue came over to him.

"So, you can't really fly, huh?" asked Blue.

"Yeah..." groaned Storm. "I think I got the hang of the basics, but I just find it hard."

"Don't worry." she smiled at him. "I think you'll do great."

"You really think so?"

"Absolutely." she grinned. "I was like you at one point."

"You were?" he asked, his smile dropping into a frown.

"Yep. I didn't learn to fly until I was nine or ten, and you should be around six or seven in this part of the country if you want to learn how to fly." she explained.

"Wow..." replied Storm.

"Yeah." she groaned. "And even today I still can't properly fly."

"Really?" asked Storm, genuinely feeling sorry for Blue. "Why don't you ask your parents to teach you?"

"I don't know..." she sighed. "I guess I'm just too scared. I don't know what they're going to think of me after I tell them."

"Just tell them..." he said, nudging her slightly. "I'm sure they won't think anything bad about you."

"You sure?" she asked, ears perking up slightly. Storm only nodded in reply and smiled. "Hmm... maybe I'll ask them. I mean, they are my parents after all, and they are the best flight coaches in all of Cloudsdale County..."

Just then, Storm found himself looking at Blue. She seemed to be even prettier than when he first met her, but Storm knew that he still couldn't trust mares or fillies, not after what happened between him and Summer a year back, plus, he had no idea if she liked him or not. However, there was something about Blue that was different. Maybe it was because she was friendly and talkative besides being rather pretty, or maybe it was because she had similar problems to Storm.

"Hey Storm, are you coming or what?" called out a voice from the backyard, obviously belonging to Star Night, which snapped Storm out of his trance.

"Yes ma'am!" he replied, walking out of the back door. "You coming, Blue?"

"Alright." she grinned, following Storm into the backyard.

Storm stepped out of the house and his jaw dropped at the sight. Behind a picket fence surrounding the backyard, was a large strip of land that Storm could have sworn was an old and disused runway; it was around the length of North Cloudsdale Park, which was one of the largest parks in the entire city, and at least half it's breadth, just perfect for large aircraft such as planes or airships. It stretched at least several hundred feet from the fence to another, much taller and electrified fence, which marked the border between the airport and the rest of the city. If this was where he would be doing his flight lessons, he was in heaven.

"It sure is massive, huh?" asked a voice, which belonged to Blue.

"Yep." he replied. "Is that a runway or something?"

"Well, yeah." begun Solar Blast. "This house was actually built at the very end of Cloudsdale International's original runway, after it closed down."

"Wow..." gasped Storm. "So, what you're saying is that we are standing on what remains of a runway?"

"Yep." he grinned. "That's why we don't want to have our flight lessons anywhere else."

"Anyways, are you ready?" asked Star, who stood behind the picket fence, wearing a red cap with the words GO CLOUDSDALE written on the front, and a pair of aviator shades.

"Yes, ma'am." he replied, walking through the gate and standing beside her.

"Great!" she grinned. "Alright then. When I give you the signal, I want you to trot down the field, and just before you reach the electric fence at the other end, I want you to start flapping your wings as hard as you possibly can, alright?"

"Okay, ma'am." he said, putting on his game face. He looked around to see Star, Solar and Blue standing to his left, Blue giving him an encouraging smile. He returned the smile, before turning back to face the airport before him.

"Get ready..." begun Star.

"Get set..."

"Go!"

Without any warning, Storm trotted down the field as fast as he possibly could. Eventually, he begun to near the electric fence which bordered the airport and begun to flap his wings slowly at first, but grew faster and faster. A moment or two later, he pulled off the ground and hovered in midair. He looked around to see Star, Solar and Blue trot towards him and grinned at them, but before he knew it, he fell back down to the ground and landed on his back hooves.

"Ouch..." he groaned, trying his hardest to stand up on all fours.

"Oh my gosh Storm, are you alright?" said Star, trotting over to him, followed by Blue and Solar, who was carrying a first-aid kit in his hooves.

"I think so... ma'am..." he hissed, before turning back to look at his sprained hoof and yelling out in pain. "AUGGHHH! It hurts...!"

"Is it broken?!" asked Blue, rather frantically.

"I don't think it is... I think it's just sprained." explained Storm, tears rolling down his face.

"You can't always be too sure, Storm..." explained Star, before taking the first-aid kit from Solar and opening it. She scrolled through the box's contents, looking for a bandage, before finding one and unwrapping it. "You're lucky I studied medicine at University. Where does your hoof hurt?"

"It's my back left one." he hissed in pain, pointing to his back left hoof, which was somewhat cut up and badly bruised. Star gave him a compassionate smile and wrapped the bandage around his injured hoof.

"You're alright now." she explained. "Come on, we'll take you home."

"Thanks ma'am." he smiled, before being pulled up by Solar and Star and taken back to the house.

* * *

><p>Storm sat on the couch, drinking some ice-cold soda and watching the news on TV. He groaned, not just because he was in pain, but because he failed his first flight lesson. He could only imagine what his family, especially Equinox, his own mother, would say about his failure. While he was wallowing in self-pity, Blue came over to him and sat down beside him.<p>

"Hey..." she smiled. "Is it better?"

"Well, sorta..." he replied. "It still hurts..."

"I think you did pretty well." she said.

"Really?" he gasped. "Thanks, although I think I did horribly."

"No problem." she smiled, before frowning slightly. "You did better than I'll ever do, that's for sure..."

"Hey." he said. "Don't put yourself down. I'm sure you're a great flyer, Blue."

"Thanks, Storm..." she replied, her smile returning to her face.

"Can I ask you something?" he begun.

"Sure." she replied.

"Wanna-wanna be friends?" he stuttered.

"Absolutely." she smiled.

"You-You do?" he asked.

"Yep." she replied. "In fact, you're actually the first pony, other than my parents, that's been nice to me."

"Really?"

"Yeah..." she sighed. "It's not something I like to talk about."

"I'm sorry..." he said, rather reluctantly putting his wing around her. She was slightly taken aback by this, but decided to just go with it. "I didn't know..."

"It's okay." she replied, smiling at him. "Listen, about your flight skills... look, Storm, everypony makes mistakes, but it's best to choose to learn from them. And what are you going to do once your hoof heals?"

"Fly better?" he asked.

"Not 'fly better'." she explained. "Fly faster, and stronger. Concentrate. And I hope you get better soon."

"Thanks Blue." he smiled.

A week later...

A week after his first failure of a flight lesson, Stormfire's hoof had fully healed and he was able to walk properly without the need for other ponies helping him. Right now, he was on his way for his second flight lesson and he couldn't be more excited. Why was he so excited, you might ask. Well, it wasn't just because he was going to learn to fly, but because he would be able to see his new friend Blue again.

Around twenty minutes later, he reached the house and walked up to the front door, before knocking on it. Just like last time, Blue opened the door.

"Hey Storm." she smiled. "I see your hoof has healed."

"Hey Blue." he replied. "And yeah, it did heal, although it still does sorta hurt at times..."

"You think you'll be alright to do today's flight lesson?" she asked.

"Yep." he said. "Are your parents home?"

"No, not right now." she explained. "They had to go to work today as there's been an emergency at the cloud-manufacturing department in the Weather Factory."

"Oh yeah..." he mused. "My mom told me about that... there's been some kind of meltdown and they're struggling to keep it under control."

"They fixed it yesterday." Blue replied. "They're replacing the faulty equipment today."

"Right."

"Do you wanna come in?" she asked, pushing the door open further. "They're supposed to be back in a couple of hours."

"If that's alright with you." replied Storm.

"It's perfectly fine." she smiled. "Come on in."

Storm did as he was told and followed Blue inside the house.

"You wanna grab something to eat?" she proposed. "I'm sure my parents won't mind."

"Nah, I had breakfast about half an hour ago." he explained.

"Fine." she said. "Wanna watch something on TV?"

"Sure." he replied. "What about you?"

"No, sorry..." she sighed. "I have to practice for an important music exam."

"You do?" Storm gasped. "What instrument do you play?"

"Piano." she explained. "I'm pretty bad... want me to show you?"

"I'm sure you're not..." Storm replied. "Why do you say that you're bad?"

"You haven't heard me play yet..." she sighed, before walking up the stairs. "So, you really want to see me play?"

"Yep." he replied.

"Alright..." she sighed. "Follow me, please."

Storm did as Blue asked him to and followed her upstairs to her room. Her room was rather big and spacious and it's walls were decorated with posters of famous athletes from around the Cloudsdale area, including the Wonderbolts. There was a computer desk standing in the corner of the room, directly opposite her bed and there was a state-of-the-art electronic keyboard just across from it. While Storm was checking out the room, Blue went to sit in front of the keyboard. She turned it on and changed the setting to 'grand piano'.

She sighed, before clearing her throat, which got Storm's attention.

"Where can I sit?" he asked.

"Just sit on the bed..." she smiled. "Should I start now?"

"Yep." he grinned.

Blue took a deep breath in, before playing a quick piano solo to get warmed up, which immediately captivated Storm; he had no idea she was so good. She then paused for a quick moment, before playing the song. Storm watched and listened in awe.

"Sorry." she said, ending her playing abruptly. "I forgot the rest of the music."

"Wow..." said Storm, in awe. "That was pretty-I mean, that was good. Great, even."

"Thanks, Storm." she smiled at him, before sighing. "It means a lot to me when ponies say that."

"Are you alright?" he asked. She sighed and shook her head, indicating a 'no'. "What's wrong?" he asked, moving to sit beside her.

"Storm, it's just..." she begun, sniffling slightly. "It's just... I sometimes feel as though I'm not good enough. I feel talentless, I feel like everypony else is just better than me, which they of course are. I can't even fly properly and all I know how to do good is play a piano number and that's about it. Everything else, I mess up. I'm worthless..."

"Hey, don't call yourself that." he begun, wrapping his wing around her. "I don't think anything like that about you."

"You don't?" she asked, teardrops rolling out of her eyes.

"Nope." he replied. "In fact, I think quite the opposite of you. I think you're very talented, in fact, I won't be surprised if you become a concert pianist or something like that. And most importantly, I think you're a great friend, and whoever doesn't think that about you is crazy. But, you need to learn to stop doubting yourself and believe in yourself, because I know you are capable of great things, Blue. Everypony is, pretty much. You need to believe in yourself, because I believe in you."

Blue's sad glare slowly begun to disappear from her face and was replaced by her smile, which Storm thought was the cutest smile ever. However, instead of saying anything, she hugged him as tightly as she could.

"You're the greatest friend I ever made..." she said, tears rolling out her eyes as she hugged him.

"That's what I'm here for, Blue..." he smiled, hugging her back.

A couple of hours later...

Solar Blast and Star Nights returned from work, which meant only one thing; it was time for Storm's second flight lesson, and he sure hoped not to fail this one. He stood facing the abandoned and disused runway at the back of Blue's home and prepared himself both physically and mentally for his flight lesson. It was a rather hot and sunny day, a bit too hot in Storm's opinion, but he wasn't going to let the heat get the better of him. Just then, Star, followed by Blue came over to him.

"So, Storm..." begun Star, carrying a pair of hoofguards. "You ready for today's lesson?"

"Yep." he grinned, before noticing the hoofguards in her hooves. "Hoofguards?"

"Yep." she replied. "Your mom asked me to give you them, so you don't injure yourself like last time..."

"Yeah..." he groaned, putting on the hoofguards. "So, what are we going to do today?"

"Well, I figured I was going to show you how to take-off properly..." she explained.

"Isn't that what we done last week?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah, but let's do it today." she replied. "If you do good on today's lesson, we'll move onto something else, alright?"

"Sure." he replied.

"Oh, and Storm?" begun Blue.

"Yeah?" he asked, turning to face her.

"Do you remember what I told you last week?" she asked.

"Uh... no?" he raised his eyebrows.

"Fly fast and hard, but concentrate... alright?" she explained. "I don't want to see you get hurt."

"Alright..." he grinned. "I'll try my best."

"Okay." Star smiled. "You ready?"

"Yes ma'am." he replied.

"So, Storm..." begun Star. "In order to take-off properly, first of all, you must prepare yourself."

She then moved to stand to Storm's right and outstretched her wings. Storm turned to look at her and back at Blue, who was giving him a friendly and encouraging smile, which he returned. He then outstretched his own wings.

"Alright then, I want you to trot down the runway and at the right moment, start flapping your wings." she instructed him, before trotting down the runway and beginning to flap her wings. She then took off into the air and landed back down on the runway in front of Storm and Blue. "Now, it's your turn, Storm." she smiled.

He smiled back, before trotting down the runway. As he trotted down it, he turned back to see Blue and Star cheering for him and grinned at them, before starting to flap his wings. He pulled off at least ten or fifteen feet off the ground and hovered around in midair. "UH, HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO LAND?" he shouted from above. Star then took off into the air and hovered beside him.

"Alright then." she begun. "To land, you simply slow down your flapping speed, but not stop. You should feel yourself lowering down towards the ground."

"Okay." Storm replied, before looking at Star demonstrating a landing.

"Now you try!" she shouted from below.

Storm slowed down his flapping speed noticeably and felt himself lower down onto the ground. A few seconds later, he landed back down on the ground, right in front of Blue.

"This was... easier than I thought." he said.

"You did great!" replied Blue.

"I agree." said Star. "Usually takes at least an hour of practice to learn these flight skills. You're a fast learner, Storm."

"Storm, can I talk to you in private?" asked Blue.

"Sure!" he replied, before turning to look at Star. "Are we done for today, ma'am?"

"Yes, yes we are." she smiled. "Your next lesson is next weekend, but feel free to drop by anytime."

"Thank you, ma'am." replied Storm, before walking back into the house with Blue. They sat down on the couch and Storm turned off the TV, which Solar forgot to turn off and was now displaying static. "So, what's up?" he asked.

"I just wanted to say..." she begun. "Thank you for being my friend..."

"No problem, Blue." he smiled.

"I'm just wondering... am I worthy enough to be your friend, or would you like something more?" she asked, with a sad look in her eyes.

"Are you kidding?" he asked. "Of course you're worthy enough. In fact, you're more than good enough to be my friend. Okay, Blue. What's going on?"

"Well..." she begun. "I never had any real friends before."

"You didn't?" he asked. "Who won't want to be your friend?"

"I don't know..." she sighed sadly. "All I know is, nopony, except my parents and my older brother wanted to be my friend."

"You have an older brother?" asked Storm. "Where is he, if I may ask?"

"He's away..." she begun, almost breaking down. "He's in the Equestrian Air Force, and the last time he wrote to us, he was stationed at a base near Los Pegasus. I miss him so much..."

"Wow..." replied Storm. "I'm sorry you don't get to see him very often, but I think he's probably thinking about you right now, wherever he may be."

"Thanks Storm..." she said, although she didn't stop sobbing. Storm sighed and wrapped his wing around her body, which seemed to calm her down noticeably.

"There there now." he said, smiling at her. "Tell me, why do you think that nopony would want to be your friend?"

"Well..." she begun. "I had this one friend in elementary school called Lightning Spark... she was the best friend I could ever ask for... we did pretty much everything together and we were virtually inseparable until sixth grade. I was quite possibly the only filly in middle school that still was a blank flank, and boy was I bullied. One day, while me and Lightning Spark were eating our lunch and talking, some rich and snobby fillies came over to our table and begun pestering us, especially me... and when I asked Lightning Spark if we could move to a different table, she joined in with the bullies and begun calling me names like 'no-mark' or 'Mrs. Markless'." she sighed sadly, before continuing. "I lost my best friend on that day, and my social abilities. I became the butt of many jokes, especially by the fillies who I went to class with. The bullying only stopped when I got my cutie mark..."

"Speaking about your cutie mark..." begun Storm. "What did you do to get it?"

"Well, it's a long story." she mused. "All I remember is that it was a dark and stormy night and a lightning bolt struck our house, knocking out the power to the entire neighborhood. And while my parents were trying to fix the mess, I flew (rather poorly) out into the night and I cleared up most of the storm clouds that were over our area."

"I didn't know you could cloud-bust." replied Storm.

"Well, I did what I could, but it still wasn't perfect..." she sighed. "But even after I earned my mark, ponies still refused to be my friend... wanna know why? Because I can't fly. And so, over time, I begun to lose my self-confidence and stopped believing in myself, figuring that I'd never be good enough to be anypony's friend."

"Well, some ponies are just stupid..." replied Storm. "Whoever doesn't want to be your friend is stupid and crazy. You're an amazing pony and an amazing friend... In fact, you're quite possibly, my best friend. And you'll always be worthy of being my friend."

"Thank you, Storm..." she said, turning to smile at him. "I don't think I've ever met anypony like you."

The next weekend...

Storm walked down the path leading to Star, Solar and Blue's home, ready for another flight lesson, however he was most looking forward to seeing Blue again. As he neared their home, he noticed something that made his blood boil with anger; there was a group of teenage Pegasi standing in front of their home, all apparently gathered around Blue. They were pestering her and calling her rude names.

"I don't know what you want from me..." she said, trying her hardest to back away from the bullies.

"We don't want anything from you..." sneered a young mare named Rose. "Flightless piece of trash."

"Then I don't understand..." she quivered. "Why are you all here?"

"Simple." explained a tall, yet bulky colt nicknamed "The Cloudsdale Juggernaut", apparently due to his size and body build. "Give us your bucking cash and we'll let you go."

"No, I'm not giving anypony anything." she explained. "It's my money; I earned it."

"You earned it, huh?" sneered Rose. "Well, think of this as a trade... give us the money and we'll let you go."

"I said 'no'!" she said, glaring at all of them. "How long does it take to get that through your thick, bony skulls?"

"Strong words..." replied the colt, moving to the side to reveal four or five stallions of truly massive size. Blue's heart almost stopped beating in shock. "But not strong enough. Meet my brothers, or your painful death."

"Hey! Leave her alone!"

The bullies all turned to face Storm, with vicious glares on their faces.

"Well, well, well..." begun one one bully. "Lookie here, a lost bird..." he then turned to look at Storm's flank. "And look. He doesn't even have his cutie mark..."

The bullies started laughing at Storm, who simply glared, while Blue slowly backed away towards a fence. This was now beginning to get personal. Nopony was going to treat him and his best friend like that and get away with it. "Just leave her be." said Storm. "What did she ever do to you?"

"She exists..." scoffed Rose. "That's what."

"You know what?" begun Storm. "I know exactly why you're all here. You're here because you can't handle the fact that she is better than you in every single way imaginable."

"How did he guess?" asked one of the bullies, whispering in Rose's ear. "Is he psychic?"

"Shut the buck up..." she rolled her eyes.

"Blue may not be able to fly properly like you, but she sure as hay is an amazing mare." explained Storm. "She knows how to play piano, she knows how to cloud-bust, but most importantly, she is a wonderful pony."

"Please..." scoffed the tall colt. "What are you going to do to us? Give us a pep talk?"

"No, but I will call the Royal Guard if you don't leave us alone." explained Storm. At the mere mention of the Royal Guard, the bullies begun to back away. In fact, after they noticed some armored Pegasi walking down the path, they trotted off into the distance, leaving Storm and Blue alone.

"You alright?" he asked.

"I am now..." she replied, smiling at him. "Thanks for helping me, Storm."

"No problem." he smiled. "Who were they? Bullies?"

"Yeah..." she sighed. "I'm used to them by now..."

"Nopony should have to go through such bullying. Have you told your parents?" he asked.

"Yeah..." she replied. "They explained everything to the parents, but they didn't do anything."

"Well, they do seem to be scared of law enforcement, that's for sure." explained Storm.

"They've had numerous run-ins with Royal Guards before..." she explained. "Storm, can I tell you something?"

"Sure."

"I don't know how to tell you this, but, I have a crush on you..." she explained. Storm's jaw dropped. "I had it ever since I first met you."

"You do?" asked Storm, bewildered.

"Yep." she replied. "You're just such an amazing pony..."

"Thanks..." he smiled. "I-I have a crush on you too..."

"You do?" she gasped.

"Absolutely." he grinned. "I was captivated by you ever since I first saw you, although I was too scared to admit my feelings for you."

"Same..." she sighed. "I thought you were going to reject me, like everypony else..."

"Blue?" he asked.

"Yeah?"

However, instead of saying anything, Storm kissed her on the cheek, which caused them both to blush and chuckle slightly.

"Thank you for being there for me, Storm." she said, nuzzling against his chest.

"No problem, Blue." he smiled, wrapping his wing around her. "Come on, let's get you home."


	10. The Best Night Ever

"Alright, Storm..." begun Star, who was standing at the very start of the runway. Storm and Blue stood right next to her, Storm trying to mentally prepare himself for whatever it was he was doing. It was an unbearably hot, humid morning in Cloudsdale and the temperatures rose to around 90 degrees in that part of the city alone, which made Storm wonder how the hay he was able to withstand such temperatures. "As you can see, today is a pretty hot day, and so, after you're done with your flight lesson, we'll go get some drinks, alright? And try not to fly too high. The sun can really damage your wings at very high altitudes."

"Yes, ma'am." he nodded, shivering slightly at the thought of the sun damaging his wings.

"Alright then." replied Star, looking at a small, puffy cloud floating around a hundred feet above the runway. "Today's lesson may seem hard at first, but trust me; it's one of the easiest things you can do in Flight School. Today, you will attempt to land and stay on a cloud for longer than five seconds."

Storm gulped and begun shaking slightly. He still didn't consider himself to be a good flyer in any way, and yet, he had to learn how to land on a cloud. However, what if the cloud gave way beneath his hooves? What if it wasn't solid, like the cloud layer on which Cloudsdale was built? Or what if the intense heat caused it to evaporate? Luckily, his fears were eased by Blue, who nuzzled him gently and caressed his side.

"There there now, Storm..." she said. "It'll be alright. You'll do great."

"Thanks, Blue..." he smiled, calming down noticeably. "Thanks for believing in me."

"No problem." she grinned, kissing him on the cheek. "Like I said, you'll do great."

The two then turned to watch Star take off into the air and land on the cloud, before flying back down to the runway.

"That was great, ma'am." explained Storm.

"Thank you, Storm." replied Star. "Now, it's your turn. You remember how to properly take off?"

"Yes ma'am." he replied, walking up to the runway and standing beside Star. This was it; there was no backing out now. He needed to know how to land on that cloud if he wanted to progress through his flight lessons. And so, Storm prepared himself for takeoff, beads of sweat rolling down his face as he eyed the cloud on which he was supposed to land.

"Ready?" begun Star.

"Ready." he replied, putting on his game face.

"Set?"

"Set."

"Go!"

"Go Storm, go!" whispered Blue. "Go Storm, go!"

Storm trotted down the runway as fast as lightning, his eyes set on the small, white cloud on which he was supposed to land. Despite the heat, which made Cloudsdale look more like the San Palomino Desert rather than north central Equestria, he still was determined enough to land on the cloud. Eventually, the time was right for him to unfold and begin to flap his wings. He did so and took off into the air, far higher than he had ever attempted to fly before. It was much colder up here than it was down on the ground, and even though the sun's rays battered him mercilessly, he found it much easier to fly up in the sky. Storm gasped as he looked around; he could see much of the airport and the downtown part of Cloudsdale, along with several suburbs and some commuter towns surrounding the cloud metropolis. He could also make out a tiny castle sticking out of a large mountain in the distance, at least sixty-seventy miles from West Cloudsdale, which he presumed to be the capital city of Equestria, Canterlot. He was hoping to go there someday, but right now, he was stuck in Cloudsdale. Storm had to admit, the view was absolutely stunning. But then, he realized he was not up here to marvel at the view, but he was here to land (or at least attempt to land) on a cloud, which hovered at least fifty feet or so behind him.

He groaned and flew back towards the cloud, at the highest speed he could possibly fly at. He closed his eyes as he neared the cloud, still afraid of whether he was going to land on it or fall through it. Just then, his hooves touched the cloud, which was just as solid as the cloud Cloudsdale was built on. He sighed in relief, before looking down below at Star, Blue, and another pony that had just arrived and waving at them. He then fluttered his wings again and flew off the cloud and landed on the ground, where he was greeted by Blue.

"See?" she grinned. "I knew you could do it!"

"Yep, all thanks to you." he smiled, before turning to face Star. "So, how did I do, ma'am?"

"You did very well, Storm." smiled Star. "In fact, you did much better than I had expected you to do. Most flight students fail this the first time round."

"Really?" he gasped, before turning to look at Solar Blast. "Hi, Mr. Solar, sir."

"Yep." Solar grinned. "So, how are your wings?"

"Tired..." replied Storm, trying to move his wings, which had turned slightly red at the joints between them and the rest of his body due to the heat. "Ahh..." he hissed. "And a bit painful."

"You want something to drink, Storm?" asked Star. "Some soda should cool you right down."

"Yes please, ma'am." he grinned.

"Alright." she smiled, before going into the kitchen to fetch the soda, followed by Solar, who went to work on a business report, leaving Storm and Blue alone in the backyard.

"Uh, Blue?" begun Storm, in a rather awkward voice. "I don't know whether you'll accept, and I won't blame you if you don't..."

"Yeah?" she asked, her ears perking up.

"Would you... go somewhere with me?"

"You mean, like a date?"

"Yeah, well, yeah..." he replied, expecting to be rejected.

"I'd love to." she grinned, catching him completely off-guard.

"Where would you want to go?" he asked.

"Hm..." begun Blue. "I honestly don't know."

"I have an idea..." he grinned. "How about the local pizza restaurant? They serve these great Manehattan-style pizzas from 4 to 8 PM."

"Alright then." she replied, nuzzling against him. "I love pizza."

"Also, we could maybe take a stroll though the park on the way back..." he proposed. "What do you say at 6:30 PM tomorrow, huh?"

"6:30 PM tomorrow it is." she replied. "Thank you Storm."

"No problem, Blue." he smiled.

* * *

><p>The next evening...<p>

While High Wind and Mist were in town shopping and Gust was practicing for a band audition, Storm and Equinox stayed behind at home. Storm was upstairs, busy preparing himself, both physically and mentally, for his first date with Blue Night. He was certain that this date would go much better than his date with Summer went, but he couldn't be too sure. He also wasn't very sure whether his relationship with Blue would last. Just then, Equinox came into his room, carrying a pressed shirt.

"So, are you ready for your date, sweetie?" she asked, giving him the shirt, which he put on and buttoned up.

"I don't know, mom..." he groaned. "I mean, I really like her and stuff... but I don't really know if she likes me. I've been having some bad thoughts about this date."

"Oh cheer up, son." she said, hugging him tightly. "I've seen you two together before; you are a match made in heaven."

"You really think so, mom?" he asked.

"Yep." she grinned. "I hope the date goes well for you, son."

"Thanks, mom." he replied, hugging her tightly.

"No problem, son." she said, returning the hug. They stood there hugging for a minute or so, before Storm turned to look at his alarm clock sitting on his nightstand. The time was 6:01 PM, which meant he had less than half an hour to get to Blue's house and pick her up. "Looks like you better be heading off to Blue's house."

"Yeah..." he replied, trotting downstairs and out of the front door. "See you, mom."

"Bye son." she waved at him. "Have a great date, and stay safe."

After saying 'goodbye' to his mother, Storm took off into the air and flew towards Blue's house. His wings still hurt after yesterday, but he felt a sense of freedom in flight. In fact, he felt more free than he ever did on the ground. That, and the Cloudsdale skyline looked absolutely stunning. On the way to Blue's house, he decided that there was still time to do something else; buy her some flowers at a local flower shop which his mom used to frequent.

* * *

><p>Storm landed just across the street from the flower shop, which was located seven blocks from Blue's house. He stretched his wings, which were still painful at the joints, but not as much as before. The flower shop was called '<em>ROSE'S FLOWERS<em>', and had the words 'CLOSING INDEFINITELY IN TWO WEEKS' written underneath the name. Storm sighed sadly, knowing how much his mom liked to visit the store, before coming back to his senses and remembering that he had extremely limited time, so he trotted across the street and into the store.

Storm gasped, noticing who was sitting behind the counter; Summer Blossom.

"Hi Storm." she said, waving at him. Storm didn't reply and instead, gave her a quick glare, before walking off to look for some flowers for Blue. She sighed, before saying something. "Still angry about me dumping you, huh?"

However, Storm didn't reply and continued looking for flowers.

"Look, Storm..." she begun. "How can I tell you this? Me and Hurricane knew each other ever since we were kids... his father used to be my dad's business partner back in Baltimare, which meant that me and Hurricane used to hang out a lot together. And then, Hurricane left for Cloudsdale, but he still wrote to me and I wrote back. And then, as we got older, we begun to exchange somewhat more mature letters and photographs and stuff, and I begun to fall in love with him right away... and you're really not listening to me, are ya?"

Storm shook his head, before picking up some roses.

"Storm, please, don't take this the wrong way, but Hurricane... I loved him." she explained. "And I still do."

"Then why did you chose to go out with me, Summer?" Storm sighed. "And why did you call me your 'coltfriend'?"

"Well..." she begun. "I was immature and reckless... I really didn't know the meaning of 'love' back then, but I've definitely matured over the last year or so. Look, I'm sorry for treating you like crap back then. I really am. I just hope we could make amends and be friends, Storm."

"Bullshit..." he groaned, taking the roses up to the counter. Summer sighed sadly and wrapped some tape around them to stick the bouquet of roses together, before passing it to Storm, whose glare slowly softened as he looked at Summer, who seemed to be on the verge of breaking down. "You really are sorry, aren't you?"

"Of course I am..." Summer said. "Storm, please... I know I've been a horrible marefriend before, and I'm sorry for that. I really am. Of course, you don't have to forgive me if you don't want to... I can live with that."

"You're forgiven." he smiled, catching her off-guard.

"Really?" she asked.

"Yeah, really." replied Storm, smiling warmly at her. "We can be friends if you like."

"You'd want to be friends with me? After all that I've done to you?" she asked.

"Yep." he smiled. "I couldn't be angry at you for any longer..."

"Thanks, Storm..." she replied, returning the smile. "And once again, I'm sorry."

"Hey, it's alright." he said. "Everypony makes mistakes."

They both faced each other for a minute or so, unsure of what to say.

"So..." begun Storm. "What's happening to the shop?"

"Well... there's this new flower shop that's opened just across the street." she explained, looking at a shop across the street, with a neon sign above it that said '_FLORAL FLOWERS - Flowers Straight From Ponyville_'. "Most of our customers have stopped coming here and instead are going to that Celestia-forsaken place."

"I'm sorry..." he replied. "I really wish there was something I could do to help."

"It's okay..." she sighed. "We're still running... but I don't exactly know how long we'll be running for... You're our first customer today, you know that?"

"Really?" he gasped.

"Yep."

"Wow..." replied Storm. "I just hope everything goes well for you, Summer..."

"Thanks Storm. That'll be 3.50 bits." she replied. "Lemme guess, these are for your marefriend?"

"Yeah..." he replied, passing her the bits.

"I hope she treats you better than I did..." she sighed. "Have a nice day."

"You too, Summer..." he replied, before leaving the shop and taking off into the air.

* * *

><p>Five minutes later, Storm landed in front of Blue's house, which towered ominously before him. Rather reluctantly, he rang the doorbell and begun to pace up and down the pathway leading to the front door, nervous about whether this date was going to work out or not. A moment or two later, Solar Blast opened the door.<p>

"Yeah?" he asked, before turning to look at Storm. "Hi Stormfire. Can I help you?"

"Yes sir..." he stuttered. "I'm, uh, here to pick up Blue."

"Pick up?" Solar raised his eyebrows, before a glare formed on his face. "_Pick up?!_You're here to pick up my little filly?! Who the hay do you think you are, huh?! Just because you get flight lessons here every weekend doesn't mean you're good enough for her, you little shit!"

"Sorry, sir..." replied Storm, slowly backing away from the door.

"Dad, leave Storm alone!" shouted a voice from inside the house, which belonged to Blue. "Look, me and him are just going to go to the pizza restaurant. That's pretty much it! I can assure you that he is a gentlepony like no other and he won't cause me any harm."

"Sorry, honey-pie." he grinned awkwardly.

"It's okay." she shouted. "Storm can come inside if he wants. I'll be one moment!"

"Get inside, **now**." growled Solar Blast, motioning for Storm to go into the house. Without any hesitation, Storm walked into the house and stood at the foot of the stairs, waiting for Blue to come down. A moment later, she walked down the stairs, and Storm gasped. She looked absolutely beautiful, in fact, she looked more beautiful than she looked before. She was wearing a long, cyan-colored dress and her mane was tied up into a bun.

"You should see the look on your face, Stormy..." she chuckled, nuzzling him. "How are you?"

"I'm alright..." he replied, not taking his eyes off the beauty before him. "You look stunning."

"Thank you, Storm." she said. "And I must admit, you do look handsome in that shirt."

"Thanks Blue." he grinned, before outstretching his hoof. "So, shall we be off then? We don't want to be late or anything, right?"

"Right." she replied, taking his hoof. Storm turned to look into the living room, where Solar was looking back at him with disapproving eyes that gave him the chills. Blue noticed this and nuzzled against Storm, which made him feel better. "Don't worry about my dad. He may seem intimidating on the outside, but he's a big softy on the inside. You just need to get to know him better."

"Right." he replied. "Bye, Mr. Solar, sir..."

"Remember, if you do anything to my little filly, ANYTHING that harms her, ANYTHING that puts her in ANY danger and ANYTHING that she doesn't like or want you to do... I will personally kill you." Solar growled, sending chills down both Storm's and Blue's spines. "You hear?"

"Yes sir..." Storm quivered.

"Good." replied Solar, before turning to look at a clock hanging on the wall in the living room. "She must be back home by nine o'clock."

"Yes sir..." replied Storm, shivering slightly. "I'll look after her. You have my word..."

"Good." he said coldly. "Have a nice evening, baby."

"Thanks daddy..." replied Blue, still rather shaken by what Solar said to Storm. "See you later..."

Twenty minutes later...

By this time, Storm and Blue had reached the pizza restaurant, Cloud Pizza Co., which was on the ground floor of a tall building in the downtown part of the city. They sat down at a table close to the window, and waited for a waiter to come over and take their orders.

"So, uh..." begun Storm, picking up the menu. "What pizza are you having, Blue?"

"Hmm..." she begun. "Haywai'ian?"

"Haywai'ian it is." Storm grinned. "I love Haywai'ian. What about you?"

"Yep." Blue replied. "Haywai'ian is so juicy. Ever been to Haywaii, Storm?"

"Nope." he said. "I've really been hoping to go though. I heard it's absolutely amazing there, especially at this time of year. What about you, Blue?"

"Yep." she replied. "We were flying from the Gryphon lands one summer and there was a cyclone over the Poncific, which meant we had to land in Haywaii and stay there until the storm had passed."

"Fun fact: I'm from the Gryphon lands." he grinned.

"You are?" Blue gasped. "I never would have guessed."

"Yep. My mom and dad used to live there..." he explained. "And I still have friends over there."

"Fascinating." Blue grinned. "I haven't been beyond Equestria's borders for a couple of years now, and I'd love to go to Europone one day."

"Who knows, maybe you will one day." said Storm, putting his hoof on her hoof. "Did anypony ever tell you how pretty you are?"

"Not really..." she replied, blushing slightly. "Thanks, Storm."

"Whoever doesn't think that you're pretty is crazy." explained Storm. "I don't think I've ever met a mare like you, Blue. You're not just pretty; you're sweet, you're kind, you're patient..."

"Aw..." she blushed fiercely. "I can only say the same thing about you, Storm. Thank you."

"You're welcome." he smiled.

Just then, the waiter, a small, tan Pegasus pony with a black mane and mustache, came over to their table, carrying a notepad.

"What can I get you?" he asked.

"Uh, a large Haywai'ian-style pizza." explained Storm.

"What kind of crust?" the waiter asked, writing the order down on his notepad.

"Blue?"

"Uh, thin crust please." she replied.

"Thin crust it is..." the waiter replied, writing down the type of crust on his notepad, before closing it. "It'll be ready in twenty minutes." And with that, he left their table for the kitchen.

"Blue?" asked Storm.

"Yeah?"

"I got you something." he replied, unfolding his wing to reveal the bouquet of roses hidden beneath it, somehow not damaged by the wing. "I don't know if you like roses or not..."

"Storm, I love roses..." she smiled. "But you shouldn't have."

"No, no." he replied, placing the roses in a jug of water, which stood in the middle of the table. "It's from me to you."

"Storm..." she begun. "Why are you doing this?"

"I just want to be a good coltfriend..." he replied. "And I really don't want to lose you like I lost my last marefriend."

"You already are, silly." she said, smiling warmly at him. "I don't think I ever met a stallion like you, Storm."

"Well, I don't think I ever met a mare like you, Blue." he chuckled. "Blue?"

"Yeah?" she asked.

"I love-" he begun, but they were interrupted by the waiter, carrying a large and freshly-baked Haywai'ian pizza in his hooves.

"Here you go." the waiter said, placing the pizza between them. "That'll be 10 bits."

_...you..._ Storm thought to himself, before giving the waiter some coins. The waiter smiled, before going back into the kitchen and leaving Storm and Blue alone.

* * *

><p>After eating pizza, Storm and Blue left the pizza place and headed back towards her home. However, Storm had proposed to take a different path than they took on the way to the pizza place. They both left the downtown part and made their way through some of the suburbs, before entering a large, hilly park, just a couple of blocks away from Blue's house.<p>

"I just wanted to say 'thank you', Storm." begun Blue. "For everything. For the dinner date, for the roses, and most importantly, for being my coltfriend."

"Hey, that's what I'm here for." he said, nuzzling her mane. "You can always count on me."

"And you can always count on me as well." she giggled as they walked up a rather tall hill. "Storm?"

"Yeah?" he asked.

"My music exam is next week..." she explained. "Do you want to come see me play?"

"Absolutely." he smiled. "Your playing is incredible."

"Thank you, Storm." she returned the smile, before nuzzling him gently. "Maybe I can teach you how to play the piano."

"Me?" he chuckled. "Oh, no no no no. I'm horrible."

"I think we can change that." she smiled slyly. "Do you play an instrument?"

"No..." he replied.

"Well, do you want to learn?" she asked.

"Maybe." he replied. "Like I said, I'm not that good at any instrument..."

"Remember what you told me?" she replied. "About believing in myself?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, the same thing applies to you." she said. "If you want to learn how to play an instrument, there should be nothing stopping you, Stormy, because I believe in you."

"Thanks, babe." he smiled at her.

A moment or two later, they both made it up the hill, which overlooked downtown Cloudsdale.

"Wow..." gasped Storm, looking at the metropolis before them, which illuminated the evening sky with some much-needed light.

"It's quite a sight, isn't it?" Blue chuckled, leaning slightly against him.

"Yep." he smiled. "Our city is the best city in Equestria."

"It sure is..." she replied.

"Blue?" asked Storm.

"Yeah?"

"I love-"

Just then, a white streak of light zoomed thousands of feet above them, followed by more streaks of light crossing the skies at high speeds. Storm and Blue both looked above in amazement as the evening sky became filled with these streaks of light, which all rushed towards a distant mountain range. They had just witnessed a meteor shower.

"This is beautiful..." she gasped, tears rolling out of her eyes.

"I agree." said Storm, nuzzling her gently. "Blue?"

"Yeah, Stormy?"

"I love you." he said, expecting to be rejected. However, she turned to give him a tearful, yet happy smile.

"I love you too, Stormy." she said, and before they both knew it, they found themselves facing each other and leaning in for a kiss. A second later, they kissed and time for Storm seemed to slow down dramatically. They were lost in their own little world and kissed deeply and lovingly for a minute or so. "We need to do this again sometime." said Blue.

"What do you say next week?" asked Storm. "After your music exam? I have a little surprise for you."

"I'd love that." she smiled. "Thank you, Storm. For everything."

"My pleasure." he returned the smile, before turning to look at his watch, which showed that the time was 8:45 PM, which meant that they had less than fifteen minutes to get back to Blue's house. "Your dad's going to kill me... we better go."

"Alright." she smiled.

"How about... we fly there?" he proposed, outstretching his wings. Even though his wings were still sort of sunburned, he felt little to no pain in them.

"I don't know, Stormy..." replied Blue. "I'm horrible at flying."

"No you're not, Blue." he said. "You need to believe in yourself."

"You think I'm going to fly well?" she asked.

"Absolutely." he said. "Hold my hoof."

"Alright..." replied Blue. They both ran down the path which lead down the hill and through the park, and after Storm begun to flap his wings, Blue begun to flap hers as well. A moment or two later, they took off into the air and found themselves flying over West Cloudsdale.

"Storm, this is incredible..." she replied, taking in the view. "Thank you for everything."

"You're absolutely welcome." he smiled, before turning to look at a row of homes below them. "We're home, babe."

* * *

><p>"Ugh, where is she?" said Solar, pacing back and forth through the living room.<p>

"Relax, honey." said Star, who was reading a magazine on the couch. "Blue'll be here any second now."

"She should be here by nine. It's 8:58." replied Solar. "If she's here any later than nine, I'll find that Stormfire kid and I will bucking throttle him."

"Easy now." glared Star. "Storm's perfect for Blue, Solar."

"Bullshit." he growled. "He's not suitable for her. He never was and he never will be."

"Don't you see, Solar?" asked Star, putting down her magazine and standing beside her husband. "They're happy together, and if they're happy together, that's the way they should stay."

"But what if he'll do something to Blue?" fretted Solar.

"Don't fret, So-" replied Star, before being cut off by the sound of the door opening. A minute or two later, Blue and Storm stepped into the house. "Hey sweetie. How was your date?"

"It was incredible, mom." she replied, nuzzling against Storm.

"Uh-uh." begun Solar, coming over to Blue and Storm, and physically moving them to opposite sides of the corridor. "There will be no nuzzling or any other stuff like that. Anyways, did you get to see the meteor shower, baby?"

"Yeah." she replied, rather awkwardly. "It was cool..."

Solar then turned to look at Blue, with a glare on his face.

"You better have been looking after Blue properly..." he growled, much to the shock of Blue and Star.

"Dad, he's been looking after me ever since I first met him!" shouted Blue. "Why are you so overprotective of me all of a sudden?"

"Sweetie, please. I'll handle him myself." Solar reprimanded her, before yet again, turning to glare at Storm. "You better treat her with respect everyday you see her, alright?"

"Yes sir." he replied, backing away towards the stairs.

"Good." replied Solar, with a satisfied grin on his face. "Go home, Storm."

"Yes sir." replied Storm, and headed out of the front door. "Bye Mrs. Star, ma'am."

"Good night!" she smiled.

"Good night, Blue." he said, waving to her.

"Storm, wait!" she said, trotting out after him. "I don't know what's gotten into my dad lately, but he's nothing to be scared of. Like I said, he may seem mean and threatening on the outside, but inside, he's the sweetest, kindest pony you'll ever meet. All you need to do is just get to know him better."

"Alright..." he sighed. "I'll try and get to know him better, babe."

"Alright then." she smiled. "Good night, Storm. See you soon."

"Bye Blue." he replied, kissing her on the cheek. "Good night." he said, before flying away home back to North Cloudsdale.


End file.
